Novartis and Oxford BioMedica announce major supply agreement

Novartis has announced a new supply agreement with the leading gene and cell therapy group Oxford BioMedica.

The deal will see Oxford BioMedica provide Novartis with a commercial and clinical supply of lentiviral vectors used to generate the drug CTL019 – also known as tisagenlecleucel – and other undisclosed chimeric antigen receptor T (CAR-T) cell products.

Under the terms of the deal, Oxford BioMedica could potentially receive in excess of $100 million (77.4 million pounds) from Novartis over the next three years, including a $10 million upfront payment, various performance incentives, and bioprocessing and development services.

This supply agreement will run for three years – extendable to five years if both companies choose – and represents the latest extension of a partnership between the organisations that was first launched in October 2014.

John Dawson, chief executive officer of Oxford BioMedica, said: "Today's news demonstrates the value of our LentiVector platform and the quality of work we have delivered to Novartis over the last few years."

Novartis has secured this deal in anticipation of a commercial launch for CTL019 – a treatment for relapsed and refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma – later this year.

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