ReNeuron Group PLC (LON:RENE) shares jumped on Thursday after the company said the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) had granted it a patent entitled: "Low oxygen culture conditions for maintaining retinal progenitor cell multipotency".
The AIM-listed firm said the patent will protect both the composition of its hRPC cell-based therapy candidate and its method of use. As such, ReNeuron said it constitutes a “principal layer of intellectual property” pertaining to its retinal disease programme.
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The new patent follows a granting in July of another patent relating to the culture of the hRPC candidate under specific conditions to enhance function and enable identification by the presence and absence of specific cell surface markers.
ReNeuron said the patents will add further intellectual property protection to hRPC technology, which already has patent protection in other territories including Europe, Japan and Australia.
hRPC is currently undergoing Phase 2a clinical evaluation for the treatment of an inherited blindness-causing disorder retinitis pigmentosa. The candidate has been granted Orphan Drug Designation in both Europe and the US, as well as Fast Track designation from the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA), which will assist in obtaining market exclusivity and accelerating regulatory approval.
"We are delighted to have received this latest US notice of allowance to add to ReNeuron's extensive patent estate of over 250 patents across 29 patent families encompassing all of its technologies and therapeutic candidates. This patent, together with the earlier patent granted in July, adds significant value to our hRPC patent estate, supporting our aim to secure future high value out-licensing deals for our retinal disease programme", ReNeuron chief executive Olav Hellebø said in a statement.
The shares rose 2.1% to 74p in early deals.