BREAST cancer patients who haven't responded to conventional treatment are to be asked to try out a new gene therapy developed by an Oxford company.

Oxford Biomedica, based at Oxford Science Park, is one of only a handful of companies to win £400,000 under the Government's Smart awards scheme, which it will use to start its first clinical trials.

It hopes to recruit 20 volunteers with advanced breast cancer this winter, a year earlier than expected.

Research director Prof Sue Kingsman said: "We have developed a multi-component gene-based therapy which will be used in this initial phase of clinical trials in breast cancer patients.

"These patients are severely ill and have either relapsed or not responded to the best available treatments."

The company hopes to show that the treatment is safe, and work out the best combination to start bigger trials.

Prof Kingsman said they were pleased that the trial plans had been backed by independent experts assessing the Smart award applications.

She said: "This represents a significant endorsement of our technology and approach to developing gene therapy treatments for serious diseases.

"The role of the Government is crucial in supporting ground-breaking biotechnology programmes such as ours, particularly when there is great difficulty for many companies in raising money in the City."

The company raised £5m by floating on the Alternative Investment Market in December 1996 and another £7m from private investors.

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