22 January 2013 | Regulatory | By BioSpectrum Bureau
Cellmid gets European Patent Office (EPO) nod for grant of patent application for vascular occlusive disease
Singapore: Cellmid revealed that the European Patent Office (EPO) has issued a Rule 71(3) communication indicating that it intends to grant Cellmid's patent application 06746805.8 entitled 'Pharmaceutical composition for vascular occlusive disease'. The application was filed in May 2006 and the patent is expected to expire in 2026.
The claims granted cover the use of short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) to prevent midkine (MK) expression in blood vessel walls. Animal studies show that MK expression in damaged blood vessels contributes significantly to vessel narrowing and obstruction, and inhibiting MK prevents or reduces narrowing. Vascular occlusive disease can occur at many sites in the body, including the heart, the brain, the kidney and the limbs.
Targeting MK in vascular disease is a novel potential treatment of both the initial vessel narrowing (stenosis) and the re-occurrence of narrowing (restenosis) that frequently occurs after surgical interventions such as stenting.
Dr Darren Jones, head, product development, Cellmid, said that, "Restenosis is a common and significant problem in CHD patients who have received stents to unblock their coronary arteries. Administering a treatment that stopped or slowed restenosis at the same time as stenting would be a valuable improvement to current practice. Cellmid's European patent covers claims to use MK inhibitors to do this."
Cellmid already holds 11 granted patents worldwide (including in the US, Europe, Japan, China and Australia) for both siRNAs and antibodies to treat angiostenosis. Cellmid holds the most significant intellectual property assets related to MK worldwide. Cellmid's patent portfolio currently includes 75 patents in 20 patent families, covering use of MK and anti-MK agents for therapeutic purposes in a number of diseases and the use of MK as a diagnostic marker in cancer and other disorders.