Vector Value: An Interview with Nick Woolf, SVP Corporate Strategy, Oxford BioMedica

Fintan Walton talks to Nick Woolf, Senior Vice President, Corporate Strategy, Oxford BioMedica, about the company’s ongoing success as it moves toward its ultimate goal of becoming a fully integrated specialty pharmaceutical company. They review the company’s history and the finances that have been raised since its successful public listing on AIM in 1996. Together, they discuss the challenges of operating within the gene therapy space, and how Oxford BioMedica has leveraged value from its viral vector technology through deal making. Nick also talks about Oxford BioMedica’s recent acquisition of Oxxon Therapeutics, and the landmark deal the company has signed with global giant sanofi-aventis to complete the development of its lead product, the cancer vaccine TroVax®.

About Nick Woolf

Nick Woolf was appointed to the board of Oxford BioMedica in March 2005, having joined the company in 2002. He has more than eight years experience as a top-rated biotechnology and pharmaceutical analyst and has been involved in all aspects of company financing, ranging from initial public offerings to major corporate deals. Before joining Oxford BioMedica, he served as Director and Head of European biotechnology research at ABN AMRO, where he was responsible for developing its industry coverage. Before that, he was Vice President and Senior Analyst at Robertson Stephens. He was previously at both Nomura and SBC Warburg. Nick is a chartered certified accountant and holds a degree in chemistry from the University of Oxford.

About Oxford BioMedica

Oxford BioMedica is a biopharmaceutical company specialising in the development and commercialisation of novel therapeutic vaccines and gene-based therapies, with a focus on the areas of oncology and neurotherapy. The company was established in 1995 as a spin-off from the University of Oxford, and is listed on the London Stock Exchange.

Oxford BioMedica's products use genes as the mediators of a therapeutic effect and/or immune response. The company’s gene therapy products deliver therapeutic molecules in vivo, while its gene-based immunotherapy products deliver genes that recruit the patient’s immune system to mediate a therapeutic effect. The company has a platform of gene delivery technologies that are predominantly based on highly engineered viral systems.

In addition to the TroVax collaboration with sanofi-aventis Oxford BioMedica has corporate collaborations with ARIUS Research, Intervet International, MolMed, Sigma-Aldrich, Viragen, VIRxSYS and Wyeth. In addition, the company has technology licence agreements with Biogen Idec, GlaxoSmithKline, Merck & Co. and Pfizer.