Oxford BioTherapeutics Appoints Senior Industry Leader to Head its New Clinical Development Operations in Basel, Switzerland

OXFORD, England, May 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Oxford BioTherapeutics (OBT) today announces the appointment of Dr Esteban Pombo-Villar as Chief Operations Officer (COO) of the OBT group. In this position he will lead the company's newly created clinical development operations based in Basel, Switzerland.  The establishment of a dedicated development operation represents a key milestone in OBT's global expansion as it progresses its most advanced therapeutic antibody and antibody drug conjugate (ADC) oncology programs into clinical development.  Dr Pombo-Villar will also become an executive member of OBT's Board.

Prior to joining OBT, Dr Pombo-Villar was at Novartis for over 20 years, the last 12 years of which he focused on all aspects of creating and managing alliances. Most recently he was Head of Alliance Management at the Novartis Institute for Biomedical Research (NIBR), responsible for alliances up to proof-of-concept in man.  He has a PhD in organic chemistry and completed postdoctoral studies at the ETH in Zurich before joining Sandoz Neuroscience Research in Basel in 1988.  At Sandoz he worked on drug discovery projects as well as leading collaborative projects investigating the potential of emerging technologies. Dr Pombo-Villar is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

Dr Pombo-Villar commented, "I am delighted to join OBT at this exciting stage in the company's development as it transitions into a clinical development organisation. This is a compelling opportunity to directly impact the future treatment of cancer by helping to shape the direction and success of OBT as an emerging leader in the field."

Dr Christian Rohlff, CEO of OBT, commented, "I am very pleased to welcome Esteban to OBT and to officially open our new clinical operations site in Basel, Switzerland.  Esteban's extensive executive leadership experience in the industry will bring considerable value to OBT as we advance our highly promising lead programs into the clinic."

OBT's clinical development operation in Basel, Switzerland, represents an important site for the company's future expansion, in addition to its corporate headquarters and discovery labs located in Oxford, UK, and R&D facility in San Jose, California. In 2011, OBT made significant progress in the ADC field, announcing a collaboration with Seattle Genetics, Inc. for the discovery of multiple ADC programs for cancer and an out-licensing deal with Sanofi for a preclinical ADC program for the treatment of solid tumours.

About Oxford BioTherapeutics

Oxford BioTherapeutics (OBT) is a leading international biotechnology company focused on delivering innovative and cost-effective first-in-class medicines to fulfil major unmet patient needs in the field of cancer. OBT is developing cutting-edge antibody-based cancer medicines, with integrated diagnostics, against novel targets that it has discovered through its unique OGAP® proteomic database. OBT has access to the most advanced antibody technologies and expertise through its partnerships with many of the world leaders in antibody development, including Seattle Genetics, BMS (Medarex), Amgen, Alere (formerly Biosite) and BioWa, and through its development alliances with GlaxoSmithKline and Sanofi. OBT's diagnostic collaboration with Alere also provides the opportunity to develop tailored diagnostics for OBT's therapeutic products. These partnerships have enabled OBT to convert its world leading capabilities in the discovery of novel oncology targets into a highly attractive pipeline of therapeutic antibodies.

For further information, please see http://www.OxfordBioTherapeutics.com

OBT Contact Information:
Chief Executive Officer:    
Christian Rohlff, Ph.D.    
+44(0)1235-861770    
E-mail    
cr@oxbt.co.uk
       
Media enquiries/Citigate:    
David Dible    
+44(0)207-638-9571    
E-mail    
david.dible@citigatedr.co.uk