We have updated our forecasts on Oxford BioMedica this morning following interim results and £10m (net) fundraising announced on 13 September 2016. Novartis remains on track to file a biologics license application (BLA) for CTL019 (Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia) in early 2017. Oxford BioMedica is confident that it will become supplier for the commercial launch of the product in H2 2017 as well as benefit from a royalty on the product. Following the substantial capex programme undertaken in the last 18 months to increase manufacturing capacity, we believe Oxford BioMedica not only has the capability to continue to supply for Novartis but also the potential to establish additional agreements with other companies. However, in the near term the financial outlook is highly dependent on Novartis. Oxford BioMedica announced in its interim results its intention to out-license or spin out its internal clinical pipeline, providing additional near term news potential. We upgrade to Hold this morning with a 3.3p Target Price.
