Oxford BioMedica PLC (OXBDF)

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https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/business/our-top-share-tips-for-2018-5skb87lxq
The Sunday Times Our top share tips for 2018 Oxford Biomedica

Iain Dey
Oxford BioMedica
Backing British biotech has served me well this year, so I am going to attempt to repeat the trick. Medicine is making quicker advances than the general public seems to acknowledge. One biotech that seems to offer upside, with limited downside, is Oxford BioMedica.

Having more than doubled this year to 8.85p on the back of test results that showed one of its treatments could help cure a form of childhood leukaemia, it is not necessarily an obvious choice for 2018. Nonetheless, Peel Hunt and Jefferies both have a price target of 13p per share, implying more than 40% upside.

Formal approval of the aforementioned leukaemia treatment could lead to a reappraisal of what some analysts reckon could be a $1bn blockbuster.

But that still misses the point. Oxford BioMedica, through its tie-up with Novartis, is now at the forefront of the revolution in immunotherapy — a process whereby your own cells are modified to beat cancer, then reinserted in your body. Oxford is providing the vehicle to transport the Swiss giant’s drugs in this new process. And it earns hard cash for doing so — $127m in 2022, according to estimates from Rodman & Renshaw.

Don’t be fooled by the penny share price. This is a £280m company with relatively freely traded shares and a long history on the stock market.