Has received “Intention to Grant” from the European Patent Office
For the treatment of aggression and social withdrawal
MADRID, Spain and CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 22, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Oryzon Genomics, S.A. (ISIN Code: ES0167733015, ORY), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company leveraging epigenetics to develop therapies in diseases with strong unmet medical need, announced today that the European Patent Office (EPO) has issued an “intention to grant” communication for Oryzon’s European patent application EP18748921.6 entitled “Methods of treating behavior alterations” related to vafidemstat, Oryzon’s LSD1 inhibitor in clinical development for the treatment of psychiatric disorders like borderline personality disorder and schizophrenia. The allowed claims cover the use of vafidemstat for the treatment of aggression and social withdrawal.
The intention to grant is a formal communication from the EPO in which it indicates that the patent application has reached the status where it is allowed for issuance as a patent. The patent, once granted, will not expire until at least 2038, excluding any potential patent term extensions that may provide additional protection. Corresponding patent applications are pending in several additional major pharmaceutical markets, and a patent has already been granted in Russia.
“Vafidemstat is protected by an extensive array of issued patents safeguarding its composition-of-matter across key global markets, complemented by a multilayer of supplementary patent filings that will offer additional market exclusivity when granted. We are delighted to have received this notice of intention to grant from the European Patent Office. This decision reinforces and validates our overall IP strategy”, said Neus Virgili, Chief IP Officer of Oryzon. “Upon issuance, this patent will significantly enhance Oryzon’s patent portfolio for vafidemstat, extending its commercial life in indications with large commercial potential”, stated Dr. Carlos Buesa, Chief Executive Officer of Oryzon.
About Oryzon Founded in 2000 in Barcelona, Spain, Oryzon (ISIN Code: ES0167733015) is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company and the European leader in epigenetics, with a strong focus on personalized medicine in CNS disorders and oncology. Oryzon’s team is composed of highly qualified professionals from the pharma industry located in Barcelona, Boston, and San Diego. Oryzon has an advanced clinical portfolio with two LSD1 inhibitors, vafidemstat in CNS and iadademstat in oncology, in several Phase II clinical trials. The company has other pipeline assets directed against other epigenetic targets like HDAC-6 where a clinical candidate ORY-4001, has been nominated for its possible development in CMT and ALS. In addition, Oryzon has a strong platform for biomarker identification and target validation for a variety of malignant and neurological diseases. For more information, visit www.oryzon.com
About Vafidemstat Vafidemstat (ORY-2001) is an oral, CNS-optimized LSD1 inhibitor. The molecule acts on several levels: it reduces cognitive impairment, including memory loss and neuroinflammation, and at the same time has neuroprotective effects. In animal studies vafidemstat not only restores memory but reduces the exacerbated aggressiveness of SAMP8 mice, a model for accelerated aging and Alzheimer’s disease (AD), to normal levels and also reduces social avoidance and enhances sociability in murine models. In addition, vafidemstat exhibits fast, strong, and durable efficacy in several preclinical models of multiple sclerosis (MS). Oryzon has performed two Phase IIa clinical trials in aggressiveness in patients with different psychiatric disorders (REIMAGINE) and in aggressive/agitated patients with moderate or severe AD (REIMAGINE-AD), with positive clinical results reported in both. Additional finalized Phase IIa clinical trials with vafidemstat include the ETHERAL trial in patients with Mild to Moderate AD, where a significant reduction of the inflammatory biomarker YKL40 has been observed after 6 and 12 months of treatment, and the pilot, small-scale SATEEN trial in Relapse-Remitting and Secondary Progressive MS, where anti-inflammatory activity has also been observed. Vafidemstat has also been tested in a Phase II in severe Covid-19 patients (ESCAPE) assessing the capability of the drug to prevent ARDS, one of the most severe complications of the viral infection, where it showed significant anti-inflammatory effects in severe Covid-19 patients. Vafidemstat is being investigated in neuropsychiatric disorders in two double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled Phase IIb trials: one in schizophrenia, named EVOLUTION (recruitment ongoing), and another one in Borderline Personality disorder (BPD), named PORTICO, recently finalized, with topline data and in the process of completing the full data analysis. Based on PORTICO’s topline results, the company is planning to request an End-of-Phase II meeting with the FDA to discuss options for a registrational Phase III trial in BPD. The company is also deploying a CNS precision medicine approach with vafidemstat in genetically-defined patient subpopulations of certain CNS disorders and is preparing a clinical trial in Kabuki Syndrome patients. The company is also exploring the clinical development of vafidemstat in other neurodevelopmental syndromes.
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