On October 22, 2024 SFA Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing oral small-molecule biosynthetic compounds for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, reported the expansion of its intellectual property in autoimmune disease and hepatocellular carcinoma (Press release, SFA Therapeutics, OCT 22, 2024, View Source [SID1234647317]). SFA Therapeutics has been issued a new patent in the United States (11963938) and has been allowed two patent applications in Canada (2,974,510) and in Korea (10-2017-7023391) with patent coverage through 2036. SFA Therapeutics has also been issued one new patent in Korea (10-2646764) with patent coverage through 2038.

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The United States patent and the allowed Canadian and Korean patent applications protect the short chain fatty acid composition that comprises SFA’s proprietary oral small-molecule biosynthetic compound SFA-001. SFA-001 is a potent immunomodulator being evaluated for the prevention, delay of onset, and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. In preclinical studies, SFA-001 demonstrated cytotoxicity against two common human liver cancer cell lines expressing the hepatitis B oncoprotein, HBx. Huh7x and Hep3BX are highly sensitive to SFA-001 without damage to normal liver cells. In 2019, the United States Food and Drug Administration granted an Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) to SFA-001 for the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma.

The Korean patent protects the short chain fatty acid composition that comprises SFA-002, SFA Therapeutics’ lead candidate and Phase-2 ready potent immunomodulator being evaluated for the treatment of psoriasis. SFA-002 acts on multiple therapeutic pathways with the aim of restoring balance to the immune system. While SFA-002 inhibits pathways of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-17, IL-23, TNF-α, and IFN-y, it also increases Treg differentiation and upregulates the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10.

"As SFA’s clinical development progresses, we understand the importance of strengthening our intellectual property portfolio to protect SFA Therapeutics’ proprietary therapeutic candidates," said Dr. Ira Spector, Chief Executive Officer of SFA Therapeutics. "The expansion of our patent portfolio allows us to continue the research and development necessary to bring drug candidates like SFA-001 and SFA-002 through the clinic to patients of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. This brings the total number of issued and allowed SFA Therapeutics patents to 15, with 33 additional patents pending."

"These patents demonstrate the novel nature of SFA Therapeutics’ platform and drug candidates which are developed by adding disease-specific adjuvants to compounds that are naturally found in the human body," said Dr. Mark Feitelson, Chief Scientific Officer of SFA Therapeutics. "Our therapeutic candidates target multiple pathways in autoimmune and inflammatory conditions, working to inhibit pro-inflammatory cytokines, up-regulate anti-inflammatory targets, and suppress autoimmunity. We believe the intellectual property protected by these patents has the potential to not only manage symptoms from diseases, but to also address the underlying cause of these conditions and prevent or delay their onset."