Reporting from Sydney this morning, clinical-stage cancer immunotherapy developer Imugene [ASX:IMU] made the upbeat announcement that it now has a patent to treat patients in the US.
A Notice of Allowance from the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has been passed for the B-cell activating immunotherapy PD1-Vaxx, which is currently in clinical development for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).
IMU shareholders were showing their support for the latest development, upping the stock price to 15 cents a piece by the early afternoon on Friday, an increase of more than 11%.
Imugene’s shares may have dropped 54% over the past 52-week cycle, and it’s still down 63% in its sector, but the result today has given it a 3.5% boost so far in the year and brought it up 7% in the last week.
Source: tradingview.com
Imugene marks US milestone for PD1-Vaxx
A week after announcing its Phase 1 MAST cancer-combating study for VAXINIA passed cohort 2 of monotherapy trials — and after treating its first patient in December — the biotech brought another win to the foreground in sharing news of its acceptance for the use of PH1-Vaxx in the US.
Imugene says that its B-cell activating immunotherapy PD1-Vaxx, which treats non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), has received a Notice of Allowance from the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
The patent, titled ‘Human PD1 Peptide Vaccines and Uses Thereof’ basically represents clearance, ownership and protection for Imugene to use its PD1-Vaxx as a method of treatment in cancer while targeting antibody response against the programmed death-1 (PD1) checkpoint target, up until 2038.
Imugene said that it is now reaching final preparations for clinical trials which combine PD1-Vaxx with atezolizumab (Tecentriq®), an immune checkpoint inhibitor that targets PD-L1, in patients with NSCLC.
PD-L1 is a protein that lets cells escape attacks created by the immune system, a process often compromised by other proteins interfering with the body’s natural healing responses.
Checkpoint inhibitor drugs — like Tecentriq® — prevent the block from happening, allowing the immune system to attack tumour cells freely.
Imugene can now determine the safety, efficacy, and optimal dosage of PD1-Vaxx in combination with atezolizumab as a first-line therapy in NSCLC patients in Australia and the US — opening it up to wider opportunities and market share while also helping one more cancer patient at a time.
Leslie Chong, Imugene’s MD & CEO commented:
‘It’s vital to our business that we continue locking in intellectual property protection across the portfolio of assets, and I am proud to continue to strengthen our IP. With the US being the largest healthcare market in the world, this is a particularly important patent to protect our PD1-Vaxx technology as we continue its development.’
Australia’s commodity boom looms
Biotech is a very important industry for Australia, but have you thought about Australia’s biggest industries? Some of the most exported, most lucrative resources that brings in most of the economy’s capital?
Our in-house resources expert and trained geologist, James Cooper, thinks the Australian resources sector is set to enter a new commodities boom brought on by the ‘Age of Scarcity’.
James is convinced ‘the gears are in motion for another multi-year boom in commodities’…and better yet, this is a boom where Australia and its stocks stand to benefit greatly.
The next big mining boom is predicted to happen in the next few years, and the question is, are you ready for it?
Don’t let the same people who got rich last time be the only ones for a second time!
You can access a recent report by James on exactly that topic, AND access an exclusive video on his personalised ‘attack plan’ — right here.
Regards,
Mahlia Stewart,
For The Daily Reckoning
