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news.Regulus Therapeutics (Regulus), Alnylam Pharmaceuticals (Alnylam) and Isis Pharmaceuticals (Isis) have reported that the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has allowed claims in a patent application derived from the ‘Tuschl III’ patent series that is assigned to Max Planck.
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The allowed claims relate to human microRNA miR-21, a microRNA that is a potential target for a number of therapeutic indications. Regulus has access to the Tuschl III patent series for microRNA therapeutics through license agreements amongst Max Planck, Alnylam, and Isis.
Additionally, the newly allowed claims cover miR-21, a microRNA that has been linked to a variety of diseases, including cancer, fibrosis, and heart disease. The claims additionally encompass single-stranded and double-stranded antisense compounds complementary to miR-21.
The allowance of the second Tuschl III patent in the US extends the scope of this patent estate, which has already yielded patents directed to miR-122 in the US (US Patent No 7232806), Australia (Australia Patent No 2002 347 035), and Japan (Japan Patent No 4 371 812).
Garry Menzel, executive vice president of corporate development and finance at Regulus, said: “We are pleased with the decision of the USPTO to allow this new patent from the Tuschl III patent series, which originated from the pioneering work performed by Thomas Tuschl.
“We continue to expand and strengthen the scope of our broad and fundamental intellectual property estate that enables development and commercialisation of microRNA-based therapeutics, including a miR-21 targeted drug. Regulus scientists and collaborators are working on miR-21 in several therapeutic indications and have recently demonstrated therapeutic benefits in a variety of animal models of disease.”