Oxford Biomedica and Sigma to Commercialize Lentivector® Technology
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Oxford BioMedica and Sigma-Aldrich have announced an agreement for Sigma-Aldrich to commercialize Oxford BioMedica’s LentiVector technology for the reagent and research tool market.
The announcement was made at the Cambridge Healthtech Institute’s Third Annual ‘Discovery on Target’ conference, being held in Boston from 18 - 21 October, where both Companies are sponsoring sessions and presenting data.
This strategic alliance identifies Sigma-Aldrich as Oxford BioMedica’s exclusive global partner in the development and marketing of research products based on the LentiVector technology.
Sigma-Aldrich plans to develop a range of high value LentiVector research products for its extensive customer base in the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and academic sectors.
Under the agreement, which gives Sigma-Aldrich the exclusive right to sublicense the technology for research purposes, Oxford BioMedica will receive an upfront payment, annual minimum payments and royalties on sales.
In addition Sigma-Aldrich has first rights to negotiate for a license to develop a range of products based on Oxford BioMedica’s EIAV-based LentiVector technology.
Furthermore, Sigma-Aldrich has committed to an equity investment of $5 million in Oxford BioMedica, to be completed before 31 January, 2006.
Peter Nolan, Senior Vice President of Oxford BioMedica said, “We are delighted to work with Sigma-Aldrich as our chosen partner for commercialisation of the LentiVector technology in the research reagent market.”
“Through its broad scientific customer base and membership of the internationally renowned RNAi Consortium, Sigma is a clear leader in this area.”
“This partnership will allow Oxford BioMedica to derive maximum benefit from research applications of the technology, while keeping the primary business development focus on the commercialisation of our therapeutic product pipeline.”
Shaf Yousaf, President of the Sigma-Aldrich Research Biotechnology business unit stated, “Over the course of the last 12 months Sigma has made a number of strategic moves, including formation of a research collaboration with The RNAi Consortium (TRC), acquisition of Proligo, and the licensing of key intellectual property from MIT and Alnylam, designed to enable us to become a dominant player in the area of RNA Interference.”
“The addition of the Oxford BioMedica patents to the Sigma RNAi intellectual property portfolio further solidifies our position in this important field of research.”
“Additionally, the equity stake in Oxford BioMedica ensures our ability to capitalise on their extensive knowledge in this area and clears the way for a collaborative effort that we expect to result in even more innovative tools for the biopharmaceutical industry.”
