Lipoxen (LON:LPX), the bio-pharmaceutical group, today reported that its monofunctional PSA PolyXen technology grant has been allowed. The patent extends the PolyXen technology patent family in the US giving both Lipoxen and its licence partners additional patent protection into 2025. Shares in the company rose by 5.8% to 9p on the news.

The monofunctional PSA technology is similar to Lipoxen's other PolyXen technologies as it enables the attachment of polysialic acid (PSA, a polymer occurring naturally in humans) to a therapeutic protein, thereby extending its active life. This process is known as polysialylation and improves drug performance and longer circulation time of the drug in the body. The resulting conjugate molecules are biodegradable, non-immunogenic and non-toxic, and therefore are expected to avoid the toxicity attributed to other methods of extending active life, such as the use of polyethylene glycol in PEGylated protein drug candidates.

Importantly, this new patent means that Lipoxen's PolyXen patent family now covers the creation of therapeutic conjugates utilising both the reducing end, as well as the non-reducing end, such methodologies having been shown in tests completed prior to both pre-clinical studies and clinical trials to avoid the problem of side product contamination.

Commenting on the patent grant, M. Scott Maguire, CEO of Lipoxen, said: “This new PolyXen technology patent will protect Lipoxen's novel polysialylation technology into 2025. By applying this novel technology to its partners' therapeutic proteins, it is in the unique position delivering the benefits of polysialylation such as extending its active life plus the advantage of avoiding final product contamination. This forms an important part of Lipoxen's strategy to build its patent portfolio and secure long term value in the US, world's largest pharmaceutical market.”

Lipoxen's technology is designed to improve the efficacy, safety, stability, biological half-life and immunologic characteristics of its products. The company has multiple drug and vaccine programmes in development. Two products are in clinical development, SuliXen, a long acting insulin and ErepoXen, a long-acting erythropoietin (EPO). Lipoxen's preclinical pipeline includes vaccines against HIV, influenza and malaria and an exclusive licence deal with Baxter Healthcare for Factor VIII. Lipoxen currently has commercial agreements with some of the world's leading biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies including Baxter, Schering-Plough, the Serum Institute of India Limited, Genentech, and Genzyme. Furthermore, Baxter, the company's third largest shareholder, and management led a £2.9m fundraising that the…

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