Sareum Holdings PLC (LON:SAR) said the US Patent and Trademark Office has issued what is called a notice of allowance offering protection for its pre-clinical cancer immunotherapy drug candidate.
The patent will protect the SDC-1802 molecule and its pharmaceutical preparation.
SDC-1802 is a dual tyrosine kinase 2 (TYK2)/Janus kinase 1 (JAK1) inhibitor. TYK2 and JAK1 are members of the Janus Kinase (JAK) family of protein kinase enzymes that play roles in autoimmune diseases and tumour cell proliferation in cancer.
In statement, Dr John Reader, Sareum's chief scientific officer, said: "The granting of this patent in the US will complete the protection of the intellectual property for our proprietary SDC-1802 programme across all major markets.
“The board believes that the patent will enhance the value of its TYK2/JAK1 inhibitor programmes and the company's negotiating position as it continues to engage in discussions with potential licence partners."