British biotech group Oxford BioMedica (OXB) has had a hand in the development of the world’s first cancer immunotherapy. The decision by US regulators to approve Novartis’ drug, Kymriah – for which OXB provides an important delivery mechanism – has been described as “a new frontier in medicine”.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave the drug the green light after reviewing data from a major clinical trial into young patients with an aggressive form of leukaemia. During treatment, immune cells are extracted from patients, re-engineered in a lab and then inserted back into the patients using a delivery mechanism pioneered by OXB. Novartis recently entered into a manufacturing agreement that will see the British company earn royalty payments on sales of Kymriah, which analysts think have the potential to peak at over $1bn (£773m).