Soligenix, Inc. announced that the United States (US) Patent Office granted the patent entitled “Peptides for Treating and Preventing Immune-Related Disorders, Including Treating and Preventing Infection by Modulating Innate Immunity.” The newly issued patent claims composition of matter of analogs of dusquetide (research name: SGX94), the Company’s lead development compound. Dusquetide recently demonstrated positive preliminary results in a Phase 2 clinical trial for the treatment of oral mucositis in head and neck cancer patients. The recently issued patent broadens the protection around dusquetide and provides further protection for the underlying innate defense regulator (IDR) technology platform. Similar claims have been granted and/or are being pursued in jurisdictions worldwide.
IDRs are first-in-class small peptides with a novel mechanism of action. IDRs function by modulating the response of the innate immune system at a key convergence point in the intracellular signaling pathways. The innate immune system is a non-specific system which responds to a variety of insults, including infections and tissue damage. Because IDRs act by modulating the response of the innate immune system, they are agnostic as to either the cause of tissue damage (e.g., chemotherapy, radiation or trauma) or infection (e.g., antibiotic sensitive or antibiotic resistant infections).
“Soligenix continues to pursue broad patent coverage for its dusquetide technology, first with composition of matter claims followed by therapeutic use claims in various indications, including infectious disease and oral mucositis,” stated Christopher J.Schaber, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Soligenix. “The IDR technology utilizes a novel mechanism, and first-in-class compounds, to address the underlying role of innate immune dysregulation in a broad spectrum of disease indications, including many areas of unmet medical need. The patent estate, including this most recent patent granted in the US, establishes a platform to pursue or partner these indications, as circumstances allow.”
Dusquetide is an innate defense regulator (IDR), a new class of short, synthetic peptide. It has a novel mechanism of action in that it modulates the body’s reaction to both injury and infection towards an anti-inflammatory and an anti-infective response. IDRs have no direct antibiotic activity but, by modulating the host’s innate immune system responses, increase survival after infections with a broad range of bacterial Gram-negative and Gram-positive pathogens. It also accelerates resolution of tissue damage following exposure to a variety of agents including bacterial pathogens, trauma and chemo- and/or radiation therapy.
