Oxford Biomedica (OXB) and Santen Pharmaceutical have agreed to jointly conduct research and development (R&D) activities for gene therapy products.

Under an R&D collaboration and an option and licence agreement, the companies will use OXB’s lentiviral vectors to generate pre-clinical, proof-of-concept evidence to discover treatments for inherited retinal disease.

Discover B2B Marketing That Performs

Combine business intelligence and editorial excellence to reach engaged professionals across 36 leading media platforms.

Find out more

The collaboration will also use OXB’s LentiVector platform and industrial-scale manufacturing capabilities.

Santen Pharmaceutical chief scientific officer and global R&D head Naveed Shams said: “We are excited to partner with Oxford Biomedica and leverage their lentiviral vector platform to develop innovative therapeutics for an inherited retinal disease.

“This important collaboration builds on Santen’s ongoing research efforts as part of the CiCLE Programme from the Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, and further strengthens our commitment to addressing challenges in ophthalmic care.”

Under the partnership, OXB will receive an undisclosed milestone payment in addition to development milestones and royalties of up to 10% on net sales.

GlobalData Strategic Intelligence

US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?

Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.

By GlobalData

Santen will hold worldwide commercial rights to any drugs made as part of the programme, while OXB will be able to co-fund and participate in development and commercialisation activities in the US and Europe.

Inherited retinal diseases are rare disorders caused by more than 260 different genes. They are strong candidates for gene therapy as many of the responsible genetic mutations have already been identified.

Pharmaceutical Technology Excellence Awards - Nominations Closed

Nominations are now closed for the Pharmaceutical Technology Excellence Awards. A big thanks to all the organisations that entered – your response has been outstanding, showcasing exceptional innovation, leadership, and impact.

Excellence in Action
Imagene’s Oncology Intelligence (OI) Suite has won the Innovation Award for Precision Oncology, for transforming how pharma designs and runs oncology trials. From AI-driven biomarker discovery to smarter patient stratification, see how Imagene is cutting time, cost and risk in cancer drug development.

Discover the Impact