OXFORD, UK: Oxford Biomedica announced that Serum Life Sciences Ltd (SLS), a subsidiary company of Serum Institute of India Pvt Ltd, has agreed to invest just over £50 million in the Group in return for new ordinary shares representing 3.9% of the outstanding shares after the capital increase.
Under the Subscription Agreement entered into by SLS and Oxford Biomedica in relation to the transaction, SLS has agreed to subscribe for 3.382 million new ordinary shares of 50 pence each in Oxford Biomedica at a price of £14.78 per share.
The subscription price per new ordinary share to be paid by SLS is equal to the closing middle market price on Tuesday, 21 September 2021.
The proceeds of the transaction will be used to fund the development of the fallow area at Oxbox, the Group’s 84,000 sq. ft manufacturing facility based in Oxford, UK, into a flexible advanced manufacturing space and the validation of several independent cGMP suites, expected to come online in mid-2023.
Oxbox was constructed by the Group during 2019 and the first phase of development, totalling 45,000 sq. ft., consisted of four GMP manufacturing suites, two fill and finish suites and supporting areas such as warehouse, cold chain facilities and QC laboratories.
Three suites are currently dedicated to producing COVID-19 vaccine at 1000L scale and one suite is producing lentiviral vector-based products for the Group’s other partners. The remaining 39,000 sq. ft. will be developed using the proceeds of the Transaction to allow for flexible expansion and use. This is expected to include manufacturing capacity for viral vector-based products, including vaccines.
The investment from SLS, a company which was set up to market coronavirus disease vaccines manufactured by Serum Institute of India, will allow Oxford Biomedica to continue to expand the capacity of the Group’s world class facilities in anticipation of growing demand for the Group’s world leading capabilities.
John Dawson, Chief Executive Officer of Oxford Biomedica, said: “We are delighted that Serum Life Sciences Ltd, a subsidiary company of Serum Institute of India, has made this strategic investment into Oxford Biomedica. Serum Institute of India has played a big part in the fight against COVID-19, as have we, and we look forward to a strong and collaborative relationship. This investment will allow us to expand capacity at Oxbox at a time when our business development pipeline has never looked stronger, and in addition, we expect this will create up to 120 new, highly skilled, jobs. We look forward to maximising the many opportunities ahead, and to continuing to achieve our mission of delivering lifesaving therapies to patients, with the support and collaboration of Serum Life Sciences Ltd.”
Adar Poonawalla, Chief Executive Officer of Serum Institute of India, added: “Serum Life Sciences is delighted to have a strategic partnership with Oxford Biomedica, with the objective of building long term capacity in the UK.”
Oxford Biomedica (LSE:OXB) is a leading, fully integrated, gene and cell therapy group focused on developing life changing treatments for serious diseases.
Oxford BioMedica plc share price
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22 Sep, 8:03 am GMT+1 ·Disclaimer
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