Imugene Ltd (ASX:IMU, OTC:IUGNF) has once again locked in international property protection for its assets.
The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has given Imugene a Notice of Allowance related to its B-cell activating immunotherapy PD1-Vaxx (patent application number 16/498,929).
The asset is in clinical development for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
The clinical-stage immuno-oncology company’s patent titled 'Human PD1 Peptide Vaccines and Uses Thereof' protects to 2038 the composition of matter and method of treatment in cancer of Imugene’s PD1- Vaxx for the generation of a therapeutic antibody response against the programmed death-1 (PD1) checkpoint target.
“It’s vital to our business that we continue locking in intellectual property protection across the portfolio of assets, and I am proud to continue to strengthen our IP,” IMU CEO Leslie Chong said.
“With the US being the largest healthcare market in the world, this is a particularly important patent to protect our PD1-Vaxx technology as we continue its development.”
Final preparation for clinical trial
Imugene is now making final preparations for a clinical trial combining PD1-Vaxx in combination with atezolizumab (Tecentriq®), an immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) targeting PD-L1, in patients NSCLC.
Within the phase 1b trial, the company hopes to determine the safety, efficacy, and optimal dose of PD1-Vaxx in combination with atezolizumab as either first-line therapy in ICI treatment-naïve NSCLC patients or ICI pre-treated patients.
The trial is called An Open Label, Multi-Center, Dose Escalation/Expansion, Phase 1 Study of IMU-201 (PD1-Vaxx), a B-Cell Immunotherapy as monotherapy or in combination with atezolizumab, in Adults with Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.
Imugene will use sites throughout Australia and the US for the trial.
Imugene’s PD1-Vaxx is a B-cell activating immunotherapy designed to treat tumours such as lung cancer by interfering with PD-1/PD-L1 binding and interaction and produce an anti-cancer effect similar to Tecentiqâ, Keytrudaâ, Opdivoâ and the other immune checkpoint inhibitor monoclonal antibodies that are transforming the treatment of a range of cancers.