Genprex Inc. revealed that the China National Intellectual Property Administration has granted it a broad patent, which covers the use of its lead drug candidate REQORSA Immunogene therapy, in combination with PD1 antibodies through 2037, to treat cancers.
The Austin, Texas-based clinical-stage gene therapy said it was granted China patent number 201780076886.X.
"This is a very important patent because it provides Genprex with additional protection for our REQORSA gene therapy in combination with PD1 antibodies, such as Keyruda, which is the subject of our ongoing Acclaim-2 clinical trial for the treatment of lung cancer," said Thomas Gallagher, senior vice president of Intellectual Property and Licensing, at Genprex.
"Genprex has already received this patent protection in the US, Japan, Australia, Russia and Mexico. Now with the same patent protection in China, we have secured exclusivity for this drug combination for the treatment of cancer in many of the largest markets. This patent protection prevents others from making, using or selling this drug combination."
Acclaim-2 is an open-label, dose-escalation and clinical response study of REQORSA in combination with Keytruda in patients with advanced, metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose disease progressed after treatment with Keytruda.
Genprex expects to enroll patients at 10 clinical sites and says that the Phase 1 dose escalation portion of the Acclaim-2 trial will enroll up to 18 patients, the Phase 2 expansion portion will enroll 36 patients, and the Phase 2 randomized portion will enroll around 126 patients.
In 2022, Genprex received a US patent granting protection for the combination of REQORSA with PD1 antibodies for the treatment of cancer. In 2021, Genprex received US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Fast Track designation for the treatment of the Acclaim-2 patient population.
The clinical-stage gene therapy company is focused on developing life-changing therapies for patients with cancer and diabetes.
Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at uttara@proactiveinvestors.com
Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive