USPTO Allows MDRNA’s Patent Application

The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has allowed patent application US 11/627,863 to MDRNA. It covers methods for the delivery of a broad array of compounds with pharmacological (biological) activity, including siRNAs, using proprietary targeting peptides that have preferential binding affinity for lung tissue.

The company said that the peptides were identified using its proprietary Trp Cage Phage Display library (J Biol Chem 2007 282(13):9813; US patent 7,329,725). The Trp Cage motif is structured allowing for the identification of peptides with high binding affinity for specific cell or tissue types, and avoids the limitations and weak binding often associated with linear peptide libraries.

The company also said that a patent allowance confirms the substantive examination of a patent application, and will result in a final issuance of a US patent after an administrative process is completed.

Barry Polisky, chief scientific officer of MDRNA, said: “The development of cell and tissue specific delivery technologies remains a key goal in the field of RNAi therapeutics. This patent allowance demonstrates MDRNA’s ability to develop targeting technologies for the delivery of RNAi therapeutics by using highly specific peptides from its patented phage display library. We will combine these peptides with our proprietary DiLA2 delivery platform technology to create highly site-specific novel therapies.”

Michael French, president and CEO of MDRNA, said: “With our ongoing collaboration with the University of Helsinki for the discovery of peptides from our proprietary Trp Cage Library, we expect further advances for effective targeting and delivery of siRNAs. The identification of additional peptides with high affinity to specific cell types, including certain cancers, is expected and will further expand the company’s patent estate.”