ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, a biotechnology company, has received a new US patent relating to the company’s monoclonal antibody therapeutics.
The patent covers the use of ImmunoCellular Therapeutics’s (IMUC’s) antibodies to measure the effectiveness of the company’s proposed treatment of multiple myeloma and ovarian cancer using the company’s molecular antibodies. This builds on IMUC’s existing patent portfolio covering technologies for both the detection and the treatment of multiple types of cancer.
ICT-109, the company’s lead antibody product candidate, is a monoclonal antibody targeting small cell lung cancer (SCLC) and pancreatic cancer. This candidate is currently in preclinical development, and the company plans to couple it with a diagnostic kit to prescreen patients for the specific antigens that bind to ICT-109.
ICT-109 has demonstrated encouraging preliminary data in preclinical studies and with appropriate support from a corporate partner or licensee, could be ready to enter clinical trials in 2010 for SCLC and pancreatic cancer indications, said IMUC.
Manish Singh, president and CEO of IMUC, said: This patent provides additional strength to the growing intellectual property position that we are building around our antibody technologies for the detection and the treatment of cancer. We are actively exploring potential partnering opportunities to enable us to bring these promising technologies through clinical testing and commercialization.