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Oxford Biomedica named as winner of The Oxford Science Park Innovation Award 2019
Oxford Biomedica named as winner of The Oxford Science Park Innovation Award 2019
18 June 2019
Leading gene therapy manufacturer recognised as part of Oxfordshire Business Awards
Oxford, UK, June 18 2019 – Its work on life-changing treatments for serious diseases has earned Oxford Biomedica, a leading gene and cell therapy group, The Oxford Science Park Innovation Award 2019. Given as part of the Oxfordshire Business Awards, it recognises the company as the sole manufacturer of the gene therapy vector used in the ground-breaking leukaemia treatment Kymriah®, which was launched in 2017. This is the fourth year that The Oxford Science Park, one of the UK’s leading parks for science and technology companies, has sponsored the Innovation Award.
In an Award open to companies in all sectors across the County, the judges were looking for an innovative product or process which had made progress over the past three years, driving corporate development in a significant way. Oxford Biomedica is the only group in the world with a GMP1-approved facility for commercial scale lentiviral vector manufacturing. Its technology is being used in the development of its own products and that of its partners (such as Novartis’ Kymriah®).
Established as a spin-out from the University of Oxford in 1995, the company now employs more than 430 people in several locations across the County.
Kyriacos Mitrophanous, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer of Oxford Biomedica, said, ‘Personalised, gene and cell-based therapy is now a reality for patients and we’re proud to be at the heart of this emerging area of medicine. Our capabilities have been honed over 20 years and we are honoured to be recognised for our achievements with the Oxfordshire Business Awards’ Innovation Award. Delivering innovation is one of our core values at Oxford Biomedica and it is recognition such as this that inspires us to continue to push the boundaries and set new standards for the sector.’
Piers Scrimshaw-Wright, Managing Director of The Oxford Science Park, said, ‘Oxford Biomedica’s key role in the development and supply of Kymriah®, which is for rare blood cancers in adults and children, makes it a worthy winner of The Oxford Science Park Innovation Award 2019. We congratulate the company on its success, and the impact it is having on the Oxfordshire life sciences landscape.’
‘We are delighted to have been involved for the fourth year with the Oxfordshire Business Awards, which celebrate excellence across the County. Several of The Oxford Science Park’s occupiers, including Exscientia, Fuel3D, Oodle, Sensyne Health and Sesui, were shortlisted or winners in other categories, and we congratulate them.’
–ENDS—
Award pictures available
1 Good Manufacturing Practice
For more information, please contact:
The Oxford Science Park
Emma Palmer Foster, Strategic Communications Consultant
T: +44 (0)7880 787185
emmapf@oxfordsp.com
Notes to editors
About The Oxford Science Park
The Oxford Science Park is owned and managed by Magdalen College, Oxford. Created in 1991, the Park upholds the College’s heritage and provides one of the most influential science & technology environments in the UK. There is approaching 750,000 square feet of workspace accommodation across the Park, which is now home to more than 2,500 people and more than 90 businesses. These range from start-ups based in the Magdalen Centre innovation hub to major international companies and include Blue Earth Diagnostics, Circassia, OrganOx, OxSonics, Oxford Nanopore Technologies, Sharp Life Science, Oxford Genetics, ProImmune, Oxford Sciences Innovation, Evox Therapeutics, Vaccitech and Exscientia.
In addition to being a key property investment, the Park is at the heart of Magdalen College’s strategy to support discovery, innovation and entrepreneurship. It will continue to develop The Oxford Science Park as a long-term strategic asset, with ambitious plans to create an additional 300,000+ sq ft of office and laboratory space on the remaining 10+ acres of land over the next 3-5 years. This additional capacity will support the growth of businesses already based on the Park, providing flexible workspace accommodation, and enabling new companies to enjoy the Park’s exceptional environment and collegiate and collaborative ethos. The Oxford Science Park is located approximately four miles south-east of Oxford city centre, just off the City’s southern ring road. It has easy access to the M40 and A34, as well as to Heathrow Airport and mainline train services. For further information, please visit: www.oxfordsp.com or follow us on twitter @OxfordSciencePK
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