Oxford Biomedica will get an upfront payment of $30m when it transfers the drug to Axovant Sciences, a US company founded just three years ago by 32-year-old hedge fund manager-turned-biotech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy. There will be further payments when the gene therapy reaches certain milestones, such as completing clinical trials or gaining regulatory approval, to a possible total of $842.5m. The agreement is significant for Oxford Biomedica, which made £37.6m in sales last year but is still loss-making and has a market capitalisation of just £565m.