Oxford Biomedica has agreed to a three-year extension of its lentiviral vector agreement for several of Novartis’ CAR-T products.

Oxford Biomedica originally licensed its LentiVector platform to Swiss drugmaker Novartis in October 2014 and later both parties inked a five year vector supply extension in December 2019.

Under the terms of the latest deal, both firms have extended the commercial supply agreement until the end of 2028 and Oxford Biomedica has regained the rights to its LentiVector platform and has the right to work with partners other than Novartis across CAR-T targets.

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“This news […] is an example of Oxford Biomedica seeking to adapt to customer needs over time, our strength as a long-term partner and our goal to unlock value and build scale across the Group,” said John Dawson, CEO of Oxford Biomedica.

He continued: “We have enjoyed a strategic partnership with Novartis since 2014 and are excited to announce this updated supply agreement which provides both companies with greater flexibility in GMP supply of vector for Kymriah and other pipeline products and allows us to react to the rapidly growing dynamics of the commercial CAR-T sector.

“In return, we are very pleased to have regained the ability to license our LentiVector platform across all CAR-T targets, maximising our ability to serve a larger proportion of the growing market for lentiviral vectors.”

Oxford Biomedica is the sole manufacturer of the lentiviral vector used in Kymriah (tisagenlecleucel), which is approved in various markets for the treatment of blood cancers.

Novartis has also been granted additional flexibility when ordering GMP batches across Oxford Biomedica’s various facilities but will no longer have a minimum order commitment.

The firm continues to work on several CAR-T programs with Novartis, including Kymriah, and a number of development opportunities in which the firm earns manufacturing revenues, process development fees and royalties on net sales.