Island Pharmaceuticals (ASX:ILA) obtains key U.S. patent for its leading drug

• Drug development company Island Pharmaceuticals (ILA) has been granted a key patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
• The patent, No US 11,007,160, is for the company’s lead asset, the drug ISLA-101
• ISLA-101 is being repurposed for the treatment of mosquito-borne viruses such as dengue fever
• The company’s newly granted patent has an expiration date of April 16, 2034
• Island Pharmaceuticals is up 5.88 per cent and trading at 36 cents per share

Drug development company Island Pharmaceuticals (ILA) has been granted a key patent by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Island Pharmaceuticals, which only listed on the ASX last month, is a clinical-stage drug repurposing business. The company primarily focuses on rapidly developing antiviral therapeutics for infectious diseases. 

The patent grant, No US 11,007,160, was issued by the U.S. PTO on May 18, 2021. It is for Island Pharmaceutical’s lead asset, ISLA-101, a drug the company is trying to repurpose for the treatment of mosquito-borne viral diseases. 

Such diseases include dengue fever which infects approximately 390 million people every year. Dengue fever is endemic in much of Asia, the South Pacific, South America, Central America and Africa. 

However, the advent of global warming has resulted in mosquitoes carrying dengue fever far beyond these areas and into new regions. In recent years, there have been rising case numbers of dengue fever recorded in places such as Florida in the U.S. and North Queensland in Australia. 

In particular, hundreds of dengue fever cases are showing up every year in fly-in fly-out (FIFO) workers from West Australian mines. 

Island Pharmaceuticals’ Executive Chairman Dr Paul Macleman called the grant of the U.S. patent a significant development for the company.

“Mosquito-borne viruses, such as dengue, Zika and others represent major unmet medical needs throughout the world and about 3 billion people – or 40 per cent of the world’s population – live in areas with a risk of dengue,” he said.

“Having an allowed patent that protects Island’s lead program in this large market provides protection for the development of ISLA-101 and further underpins our ability to advance the program in the U.S. – a key target market,” he added.

The patent grant for ISLA-101 will expire on April 16, 2034.

Island Pharmaceuticals is up 5.88 per cent, trading at 36 cents per share at 11:47 am AEST.