Clinical stage biotechnology company AdAlta Limited (ASX:1AD) has been granted its first Chinese patent relating to lead programme, AD-214, by the China National Intellectual Property Administration.
Patent Number CN 107427574 B, entitled “CXCR4 binding molecules” protects the i-body sequence used in AdAlta’s lead product, AD-214, sequences similar to this, and pharmaceutical compositions and derivatives containing these i-body sequences.
The patent also protects the use of these sequences in therapeutic and diagnostic applications, including Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF), the lead indication for which AD-214 is being developed.
Patents are granted on a country-by-country basis, and China is the fifth country to grant patent protection under this application, following Australia (two patents), US (two patents), Japan and Singapore.
CEO and Managing Director, Dr Tim Oldham, said claims are being pursued in other major markets including the European Union and India.
China is now the second largest (and fastest growing) pharmaceutical market in the world (after the US), 1,2 representing 11%3 of the global prescription drug market,” Dr Oldham said.
“IPF is included in the Chinese Rare Diseases List, including it as part of China’s plan to increase availability of drugs for rare diseases.
“Patent protection for AD-214 in this important market is anticipated to further increase the already significant interest from potential China partners.”
AdAlta 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.
The 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.
AdAlta 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.
