GENETICS company Oxagen has signed a deal with Swedish pharmaceutical company Astra AB, which is funding a five-year research programme into a disease of the arteries.

Patients from the Oxford area will be asked to give blood samples in a bid to isolate the gene responsible for atherosclerosis, in which fatty deposits impede blood flow in the arteries.

The Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre and clinical research centres in Sweden, Germany and Italy will collaborate with the research. Oxagen has the equipment to test and isolate thousands of genes, and the company will receive milestone payments if progress goes according to plan.

Oxagen will also receive royalties on any drugs or diagnostic tests which Astra develops as a result of the research.

Chief executive Trevor Nicholls said the deal fitted in with the company's aim to build links between pharmaceutical partners and academics.

"In this way we can draw upon outstanding expertise and resources from each sector, which together will increase our chances of success in gaining a greater understanding of atherosclerosis, a major cause of serious illness for so many people all over the world."

Oxagen, which employs 30 people at Milton Park, near Abingdon, was set up by three former bosses of British Biotech - James Noble, who was finance chief, Mark Edwards and John Gordon.

It has raised £10.5m from venture capitalists 3i and Advent, the Wellcome Trust, Oxford University and two private investors, Ian Laing and Nick Cross, of Lansdown Estates, owners of Milton Park.

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