BioWorld International Correspondent

LONDON - Oxford BioMedica plc announced further plans to cut back research programs in order to eke out its cash reserves. The company is reducing its expenditure on early stage work, including neurobiology research at its San Diego facility and other research activities at its Oxford headquarters.

Operating costs will be cut by £3.5 million (US$5.5 million), extending current cash until mid-2005, though the company said that is "the worst-case scenario of there being no revenue from milestones on current collaborations, or new deals in the meantime."

This is the second round of cutbacks at Oxford BioMedica, which in September made moves to extend its cash from the end of 2003 until the third quarter of 2004.

The cutbacks will not affect the progress of the two lead programs, TroVax, a cancer immunotherapeutic in Phase II trials, and MetXia, a gene therapy treatment for breast cancer, in Phase I/II.

The restructured San Diego facility will focus on the development of ProSavin, a treatment for Parkinson's disease, which is in late preclinical studies. The company said it is on course to get approval for clinical trials of the product, which is based on its LentiVector viral delivery system, before the end of 2003.

At the end of 2002, Oxford BioMedica had £21 million, down from £26.4 million six months earlier. CEO Alan Kingsman said the second restructuring would achieve two goals: "We must provide the resources to maximize [our lead products'] chances of success, and strengthen our negotiating position with potential partners."