Ocean Biomedical shares added almost 50% on Thursday after the biopharma company announced it is set to receive a US patent in the coming months that will potentially allow it to develop a “whole new class” of malaria therapeutics.
The company said in a statement that its scientific co-founder and member of its board of directors Dr Jonathan Kurtis received a Notice of Allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for his US patent application covering a therapeutic and prophylactic monoclonal antibody that kills falciparum malaria parasites.
A Notice of Allowance is issued after the USPTO examines a patent application and determines that the applicant should be granted a patent from the application, the company explained.
Ocean Biomedical anticipates that a patent will be issued by the USPTO from Dr Kurtis’ application in the coming months.
Building on earlier research that found P. falciparum glutamic-acid-rich protein (PfGARP) is potentially a highly effective vaccine target for malaria, Dr Kurtis has produced a monoclonal antibody that binds to PfGARP and triggers the malaria parasite to kill itself, Ocean Biomedical reported.
The patent allows Dr Kurtis’ team to pursue the development of the monoclonal antibody as both a potential therapeutic drug for individuals with severe malaria infection as well as a potential short-term prophylactic treatment to prevent malaria infection in travellers, overseas deployed military and government personnel, and individuals living in areas with short malaria transmission seasons, the company said.
“Inducing parasite cell death via targeting PfGARP is a novel approach that has potential to launch a whole new class of anti-malarials, including mRNA-based vaccines, small molecules and the current monoclonal antibody,” Dr Kurtis said.
“Our monoclonal comes at a critical time because malaria parasites are developing resistance to current frontline therapeutics and because the currently approved vaccine offers only very limited protection.”
Ocean Biomedical shares added 47.7% at US$6.66 shortly after the market opened on Thursday.
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