AdAlta Ltd (ASX:1AD) has extended the range and diversity of sequences analogous to its lead program AD-214 with the grant of a second patent in Japan by the Japanese Patent Office.
The clinical-stage biotechnology company developing novel therapeutic products from its i-body platform has been advised that Patent Number 2020-121974, which is entitled 'CXCR4 binding molecules', has an expiry date of January 8, 2036.
It is the second patent granted in Japan for AD-214, adding to existing patent protection.
“Important to strategy”
AdAlta’s CEO and managing director Dr Tim Oldham said: “Japan is the third largest pharmaceutical market in the world and remains important to our partnering and commercialisation strategy.”
This patent is directed to polypeptides containing the binding loops of lead i-body AD-214 that have variation in the i-body scaffold sequence and thus the patent coverage extends to i-bodies that are related to AD-214 for treating CXCR4-related diseases or disorders.
It includes the lead indication of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis as well as cancer, viral infections, inflammatory diseases, sclerosis, kidney disease, eye disorders and immune deficiency disorders and wounds.
“Expansion of protected claims”
"This patent is a valuable, additional piece of intellectual property which enables expansion of protected claims for AD-214 in Japan, a major market for fibrosis-related diseases,” Oldham added.
Patents for the asset also exist in the US, Europe, China, Australia, India, Hong Kong and Singapore.
About AdAlta
AdAlta, which is headquartered in Melbourne, is using its proprietary i-body technology platform to solve challenging drug targeting problems and generate a promising new class of single-domain antibody protein therapeutics with the potential to treat some of today’s most challenging medical conditions.
This i-body technology mimics the shape and stability of a unique and versatile antigen-binding domain that was discovered initially in sharks and then developed as a human protein.
The result is a range of unique proteins capable of interacting with high selectivity, specificity and affinity with previously difficult-to-access targets such as G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs) that are implicated in many serious diseases.
i-bodies are the first fully human single-domain antibody scaffold and the first based on the shark motif to reach clinical trials.
Research progress
The company has completed Phase I clinical studies for its lead i-body candidate, AD-214, that is being developed for the treatment of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) and other human fibrotic diseases for which current therapies are sub-optimal and there is a high unmet medical need.
AdAlta has a second target in discovery research, also in the field of fibrosis and inflammation.
The company is also entering collaborative partnerships to advance the development of its i-body platform. It has a collaboration with Carina Biotech to co-develop precision-engineered, i-body-enabled CAR-T cell therapies (i-CAR-T) to bring new hope to patients with cancer.
It also has an agreement with GE Healthcare to co-develop i-bodies as diagnostic imaging agents (i-PET imaging) against Granzyme B, a biomarker of response to immuno-oncology drugs, a program now in pre-clinical development.