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SEY 9 - 9.09p +0.175p

moving higher for the last few days and now well up from the start of the week after being selected as "Share of the WEEK"

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London shares - midafternoon features

"KEEP AN EYE"

OXB - Oxford Biomedica

Panmure note today :
Buy 22.0p
Target Price: 69p

EPS
Dec 2007 A -2.93p
Dec 2008 E -1.63p
Dec 2009 E -2.67p

Panmure Gordon Estimates
Market Cap: 118m

Oxford BioMedica
Second patient dosed on ProSavin
A second patient was dosed on ProSavin this week. ProSavin is a gene
therapy candidate for the treatment of Parkinson's disease. The importance
of the second patient being dosed is that it comes a full month after the first
patient, which implies that no issues were raised on safety. If there were any
safety issues with the first patient, the DSMB would not have allowed the
second patient to be dosed.
We understand a second patient has now been dosed on ProSavin as of 15 April 2008.
We ascribe some value to this event as it implies dosing of the first patient was without
major safety issues. The phase I trial for ProSavin started dosing patients in March 2008.
Once the first patients are dosed we expect this product to start adding to the technology
value embedded in the company. It is worth noting that unlike most other indications,
Parkinsons disease enjoys the benefits of a highly predictive pre-clinical model, which
encourages us on the prospects of ProSavin in clinical trials.
ProSavin is a novel gene therapy approach that utilises the companys proprietary
LentiVector system to deliver three genes (ADDC, TH and CH1) that collectively
mediate the conversion of endogenous tyrosine into dopamine. The therapy is designed
to provide long-lasting relief from PD symptoms and is administered via an MRI-guided
stereotactic injection into the brain of patients.
Parkinsons Disease has been touted as a promising target for gene therapy for some
time. The therapeutic aim for such a strategy is to introduce genes responsible for
dopamine production into cells that populate the area of the brain that is dopamine
deficient. The delivered (exogenous) genes are designed to reprogram the transfected
cells into kick-starting the production and subsequent release of dopamine thus
restoring the mechanisms controlling voluntary movement.
The company is trading at a significant discount to our price target of 69p, which is
supported by our SOTP valuation of the leading indications for TroVax. With the global
licensing deal for TroVax now in place, a lot of the technology due diligence can now be
assumed, which mitigates the technology risk somewhat. The company remains well
capitalised and we reiterate our Buy recommendation and 69p price target.

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End-of-day Market Roundup

UK small caps close higher; Citel surges on positive trading update