On November 22, 2021 EpicentRx, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company at the forefront of oncolytic viruses and small molecules for the treatment of cancer and other inflammatory-driven diseases, reported that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued U.S. Patent No. 10,906,957 entitled "Immunomodulatory Fusion Proteins (Press release, EpicentRx, NOV 22, 2021, View Source [SID1234595935])."
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This composition of matter patent is directed to novel therapeutic proteins, including a TGF-ß Trap Fusion Protein, both alone and in combination with viral expression and delivery vectors. The patent, which contains eight claims and expires no earlier than 2037, strengthens EpicentRx’s intellectual property position and coverage for its lead therapeutic product candidate, AdAPT-001, currently under investigation in a Phase 1 clinical trial for solid tumors. AdAPT-001 is a modified replicating type 5 adenovirus vector ‘armed’ with a TGF-ß trap, which is designed to selectively replicate in and destroy tumor cells.
The purpose of the TGF-ß trap is to sequester the powerful signaling molecule, TGF-ß, short for "transforming growth factor," which is overproduced in many disease states including cancer where TGF-ß is known to suppress the immune system. TGF-ß is also one of the main drivers of fibrotic disorders such as liver cirrhosis, Crohn’s disease, scleroderma, arteriosclerosis, non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), diabetic nephropathy, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, chronic graft vs. host disease, keloid formation and a host of other conditions where excessive scarring replaces healthy tissue.
"We are extremely pleased with the issuance of this foundational patent, which not only expands the breadth of our oncolytic adenovirus intellectual property portfolio but also, and perhaps, more importantly, covers the TGF-ß trap protein as a standalone therapeutic, independent of the oncolytic virus, to treat a range of disease relevant processes for which TGF-β is a key driver from immune system evasion by cancer cells to fibrosis," said Tony R. Reid, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of EpicentRx.
About AdAPT-001
AdAPT-001 is an oncolytic virus which is part of the company’s proprietary AdAPT Immunotherapy Platform, a platform developed on a genetically modified version of the human adenovirus that has been uniquely designed to preferentially infect and kill cancer cells. Currently in an ongoing Phase 1 trial for solid tumors, AdAPT-001 encodes a ligand trap comprised of the ligand-binding domain of the TGF-β receptor, which is fused to the portion of the human antibody known as the Fc domain.