ValiRx secures EU patent grant for VAL201 prostate cancer treatment

The European Union patent and trademark office (EPO) has approved the EU patent application no. 08717866.1 (anti-androgen peptides and uses thereof in cancer therapy), which covered the firm’s therapeutic compound.

ValiRx said the VAL201 EU is also having patent grants in the US, Japan, Australia and the UK.

ValiRx CEO Satu Vainikka said:  "I am very pleased that VAL201 has received its European Union patent grant, hot on the heels of our receipt of a US patent grant.

“This latest grant now means that ValiRx has substantive patent protection stretching across the globe and I believe it further bolsters the Company's opportunity of securing a partnering deal, particularly in the light of the expansion of the VAL201 trial to more speedily reach VAL201's full therapeutic potential and potential anti-cancer impact."

The EPO patent application is said to cover the molecule and use of compounds in pharmaceutically acceptable products

The patent coverage is also comprised of a range of derivatives, modifications and analogues of the compounds and their mode of action

In addition, the protection sought includes therapeutic formulations with associated delivery systems.

In December 2017, the company announced that VAL201 is being studied in a phase I/II trial, which is designed to evaluate the safety and tolerability of the compound and its effect in the treatment of prostate cancer and other solid tumors. 

According to the company, VAL201 has met and surpasses the predicted safety and tolerability criteria set for the trial.

In the trial, subjects have demonstrated preliminary therapeutic efficacy and significant changes in their PSA levels linked to treatment with VAL201.

The results are in-line with pre-clinical studies, which have demonstrated efficacy in prostate, breast and ovarian cancer models.