BioLineRx to get schizophrenia drug patent till 2031

Singapore: Israel-based BioLineRx received a notice of allowance from the US Patent and Trademark Office claiming the crystalline form of BL-1020, a first-in-class orally available treatment for schizophrenia.

The patent, when granted, will be valid at least until 2031, without taking into account any possible extension periods, which is nine years longer than the granted patent coverage previously reported by the company. Corresponding patent applications are pending in Japan, India, China, Australia and Europe among other countries.

Dr Kinneret Savitsky, CEO, BioLineRx, said that, "This approval, together with recent additional patent approvals regarding BL-1020 and other drug candidates, is a testament to our focused and highly professional patent application strategy. We believe that the market potential for BL-1020 has increased over the past several months, as some larger pharmaceutical companies have reported failures during late-stage clinical trials, or have reduced the operations surrounding their schizophrenia therapies due to loss of patent protection."

Dr Savitsky also said, "Today, almost one percent of the world's population suffers from schizophrenia, most of whom suffer concomitant cognitive impairment that may severely affect daily functioning. Whereas current therapies for schizophrenia do not address this need, BL-1020 has shown to significantly improve cognitive function in schizophrenia patients, and we are currently conducting the phase II/III CLARITY trial with BL-1020's cognition enhancement as its primary objective. We eagerly look forward to the expected results in the second half of 2013."