Avaxia Biologics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing gut-targeted therapeutics, announced on 11th feb, 2014 that the company was awarded U.S. Patent No. 8,647,626, entitled “Compositions Comprising TNF-specific Antibodies for Oral Delivery.”
The patent covers milk-derived anti-TNF antibodies that are orally administered within a broad dose range for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The claims also cover use of these antibodies for the treatment of IBD. Importantly, the patent broadly covers Avaxia’s lead product, AVX- 470, which recently completed a Phase 1b clinical trial in ulcerative colitis.
IBD is a serious disease affecting more than 2.5 million people. IBD refers to two related but different diseases: ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.
These diseases cause chronic inflammation of the intestinal tract, resulting in a significant reduction in quality of life and the risk of life-threatening complications and diseases, including cancer. As a chronic autoimmune disease, IBD is characterized by periods of active disease that alternate with periods of disease control (remission). The annual worldwide market for IBD medications exceeds $4.5 billion, approximately $2.5 billion of which represents sales of currently marketed anti-TNF antibodies.
Barbara S. Fox, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Avaxia, said, “This patent award is an important milestone for our company. This is the first in a series of patents that Avaxia expects to receive on the composition of our lead clinical-stage candidate, AVX-470. Avaxia will continue to build on its strong intellectual property portfolio in the gut-targeted antibody therapeutics field.”
Avaxia is located in Lexington, Massachusetts, near the Cambridge-Boston biotechnology cluster.
