Cizzle Biotechnology (LSE:CIZ) shares rose 10.9% to 3.05p after the cancer diagnostics developer said it had secured a patent in the US covering methods used to measure its CIZ1B lung cancer biomarker.
The AIM-listed company said the patent had been allowed by the US Patent & Trademark Office and further strengthened its intellectual property portfolio in one of its key target markets.
The patent, titled "Use of a fibrinogen capture agent to detect a CIZ1B variant", covers a two-step testing format developed at the University of York. The technology is licensed to Cizzle Bio Inc for use in North America and the Caribbean.
Cizzle said the patent follows a similar grant in Canada announced in February and is expected to support its partner's plans to launch the test commercially across the region.
The company is seeking to license its proprietary CIZ1B biomarker test globally for the early detection of lung cancer, with future licensing and royalty income forming a central part of its commercial strategy.
Cizzle has also secured patent protection in Europe and said it intends to pursue further licensing agreements with accredited laboratories and healthcare providers in the UK and Europe, including the NHS.
Chief scientific officer Dawn Coverley said strengthening the company's patent portfolio with this grant "is timely and perfectly aligned with recent efforts to take the CIZ1B ELISA test format to market with our US partner Cizzle Bio Inc"
