Lipoxen said that the patent extends the PolyXen technology patent family in the US giving both Lipoxen and its license partners additional patent protection into 2025.
Lipoxen stated that the monofunctional PSA technology is similar to its other PolyXen technologies as it allows a process known as polysialylation which involves the attachment of polysialic acid (PSA, a polymer occurring naturally in humans) to a therapeutic protein, thereby extending its active life.
Lipoxen claimed that polysialylation process improves drug performance and longer circulation time of the drug in the body. The resulting conjugate molecules are biodegradable, non-immunogenic and non-toxic, and therefore are expected to avoid the toxicity attributed to other methods of extending active life, such as the use of polyethylene glycol in PEGylated protein drug candidates.
With the attainment of this new patent Lipoxen’s PolyXen patent family now covers the development of therapeutic conjugates utilising both the reducing end, as well as the non-reducing end, such methodologies having been shown in tests completed prior to both pre-clinical studies and clinical trials to avoid the problem of side product contamination.
Scott Maguire, CEO of Lipoxen, said: “This new PolyXen technology patent is expected to protect Lipoxen’s new polysialylation technology into 2025.”