Pharmalink Obtains Japanese Patent For Nefecon

Pharmalink has been granted Japanese Patent No 4326696, for its product Nefecon. It is being developed to treat IgA nephropathy. Counterparts of the patent have been issued for other territories including the EU, US and China.

The company previously announced the efficacy and safety of Nefecon in IgA nephropathy, a glomerulonephritis leading to end-stage renal disease.

The concept is delivered using Archimedes’ proprietary TARGIT drug delivery technology which enables the localized delivery of drugs to the lower small intestine or colonic regions of the gut. Archimedes is providing access to the TARGIT platform and providing all trial supplies of Nefecon. Pharmalink is responsible for the management of the clinical trials.

Johan Haggblad, managing director at Pharmalink, said: “We now have IP protection for the Nefecon® principle in the major pharmaceutical markets. We are particularly happy about the addition of Japan as we are actively seeking product development partners for Asia. Asia is of high importance for Nefecon as Japan and China represent areas with significant prevalence of IgA nephropathy. With strengthened product protection we are even better positioned to attract partners and thereby reach out to patients in Asia.”

Nefecon is an oral small molecule product which downregulates the inflammatory process in the kidneys. It is being co-developed by Pharmalink and Archimedes Pharma under a partnership agreed in January 2004 to bring the product candidate to proof-of-concept.