Oxford Pharmascience : Initiation of PK Study of OXPzeroTM Naproxen

Oxford Pharmascience Group Plc

("Oxford Pharmascience" or the "Company")

Initiation of Comparative Pharmacokinetic (PK) Study of OXPzeroTM Naproxen

Further to today's full year results announcement, Oxford Pharmascience, the specialty pharmaceutical company that redevelops medicines to make them better, safer and easier to take, today announces that dosing of human subjects in its comparative PK study of OXPzeroTM Naproxen ("OXP 005") versus Naprosyn® has begun. OXP005 delivers 250mg of reduced gastric irritation naproxen via the Company's patent protected OXPzero™ technology in an immediate release oral formulation and it aims to provide significantly reduced risks of gastrointestinal (GI) side effects compared to standard naproxen tablets.

The randomised, controlled pilot study - which is being conducted by Quotient Clinical in the UK - is a two arm study between OXP005 and the reference Naprosyn 250mg tablets. The purpose of the study is to demonstrate bioequivalence of OXP005 to the reference. Further details about the study can be found atwww.ClinicalTrials.gov, ref: NCT02351024 . Headline PK results are expected by the end of the month and after these results become available the company plans to follow with a proof of concept endoscopic study to demonstrate reduced GI irritation.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are one of the most widely used classes of drugs, with more than 30 million users worldwide consuming NSAIDs each day and combined annual sales in excess of $12 billion (source: Evaluate Pharma). However, chronic use of NSAIDs causes well-documented GI side effects, including ulcers and bleeding, and leads to significant morbidity and mortality in a substantial number of patients, with significant healthcare costs arising as a result of these side effects. The OXPzero™ platform technology reduces these risks and is being selectively applied to the most commonly used molecules in the NSAID category, namely ibuprofen, naproxen, diclofenac and aspirin. Naproxen accounts for approximately 7% or c. $815 million of the total $12 billion annual sales of NSAIDs (source: Evaluate Pharma).

Marcelo Bravo, Chief Executive Officer of Oxford Pharmascience commented: 

"We begin 2015 with sharp focus on our lead 'gastric safe' non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs programme and are pleased to report the progression of an immediate release formulation of naproxen to the clinic.  The naproxen study builds on the successful GI irritation reduction results seen last year with our OXPzeroTM Ibuprofen product and aims to demonstrate that the OXPzeroTM technology can also be tuned to enable immediate release.  Completion of the PK study will allow Oxford Pharmascience to proceed with an endoscopy trial to demonstrate the gastric irritation reduction benefit is also obtained with naproxen."

Contacts:

Oxford Pharmascience                          +44 20 7554 5875

Marcelo Bravo, Chief Executive

N+1 Singer                                           +44 20 7496 3000

Aubrey Powell / Jen Boorer

About Oxford Pharmascience Group Plc

Oxford Pharmascience Group Plc uses a range of proprietary technology platforms to re-develop existing medicines to make them better, safer or easier to take. The Company does not manufacture or sell its own pharmaceutical products direct to consumers but instead seeks to license its technologies and dossiers to a network of partners, mainly leading pharmaceutical companies with Rx (prescription) and OTC (Over the Counter) branded portfolios.

Oxford Pharmascience Group Plc focuses on existing medicines that are proven to be safe and effective but nevertheless still have associated issues and side effects often affecting compliance. By working with such medicines the Company is able to develop new innovative products for a fraction of the cost, in much quicker timescales and without the high risk of failure associated with developing new drugs.