- Immutep (IMM) has locked in another U.S. patent for its efti cancer-treatment
- The patent follows a parent patent granted in late-December 2020 and further protects Immuteps intellectual property relating to the efti treatment
- Specifically, today’s patent protects Immuteps methods of treating cancer by administering efti, short for eftilagimod alpha, with a PD-1 inhibitor
- PD-1 is a protein in the human body that stops T-cells from killing other cells, but can often end up protecting cancer cells in the body
- Immutep CEO Marc Voigt says this patent is particularly important because of its direct relevance to the company’s current clinical development programs
- Efti is designed to us a protein found in the human body, known as Lymphocyte Activation Gene-3 (LAG-3), to boost the immune system
- Shares in Immutep closed 8.2 per cent higher today at 32 cent per share
Immutep (IMM) has locked in another U.S. patent for its efti cancer-treatment.
The patent follows on from a parent patent granted to Immutep in late-December 2020, which protects IMM’s intellectual property relating to the efti treatment.
Specifically, today’s new patent protects Immutep’s methods of treating cancer by administering efti, short for eftilagimod alpha, and a programmed cell death (PD-1) pathway inhibitor.
The patent expires on January 20, 2036.
Immutep CEO Marc Voigt said this patent is particularly important because of its direct relevance to the company’s current clinical development programs.
“These patent grants are important as they underpin ongoing investment in clinical development of efti and allow us to confidently engage in business development discussions,” Marc said.
The company has applied for another divisional patent for other aspects of its cancer treatment products, including combinations where the PD-1 pathway inhibitor is a programmed cell death ligand inhibitor.
Immutep’s anti-cancer trials
At its core, Immutep’s anti-cancer treatments are based on using a protein found in the human body, known as Lymphocyte Activation Gene-3 (LAG-3), to boost the immune system.
This protein, which was discovered in 1990 by Immutep Chief Scientist Professor Frederic Triebel, controls the signalling between specific immune cells, T-cells, and antigen-presenting cells, which each play a different role in the adaptive immune response.
Efti, which is currently being tested against different forms of cancer in several clinical trials, is designed to manipulate and activate this LAG-3 protein to increase the body’s immune response to cancer antigens.
On the other hand, PD-1 and PDL-1 are proteins that typically regulate a body’s immune response and stop T-cells from killing other cells. The issue is that these proteins can also stop T-cells from killing cancer cells, making treatment significantly more difficult.
Today’s patent grant strengthens the protections around Immutep’s efti treatment when administered with another product that inhibits this PD-1 cell-protection response.
Shares in Immutep closed 8.2 per cent higher today at 32 cent per share. The company has a $214 million market cap.