Alios BioPharma Issued Broad U.S. Patent for Glyco-Engineered Interferons

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwire - October 16, 2009) - Alios BioPharma, Inc. announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued U.S. Patent No. 7,597,884, claiming numerous compounds from the company's glycoengineering program including its IND candidate, Glycoferon™, which is being developed for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C. The patent, titled "Hyperglycosylated Polypeptide Variants and Methods of Use" and issued on October 6, 2009, is the first patent granted to Alios BioPharma for the company's proprietary approach for glycoengineering of proteins including type 1 interferons.

"This patent represents a significant milestone for Alios as the method for glycoprotein-engineering of interferons is being applied to the development of an interferon alpha (Glycoferon™) molecule, which may be useful for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C, and an interferon beta (Beta-Gly™) molecule, which may be useful for the treatment of relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis. Both of these compounds have the potential for once monthly dosing without compromising biological potency," commented Leonid M. Beigelman, Ph.D., Executive Vice President, Research of Alios BioPharma, Inc.

Less frequent dosing of a treatment for chronic diseases such as hepatitis C and relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis has many potential benefits, including the possibility for increased patient compliance potentially leading to better tolerability and increased efficacy.

The company will present its preclinical results for the Glycoferon program, including efficacy in a yellow fever virus model (a surrogate model for chronic hepatitis C), at the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) conference to be held October 30 through November 3 in Boston. The poster, "Significant improvement of the pharmacokinetic profile of a hyper-glycosylated consensus type 1 interferon," will be presented on November 3rd between 8 am and 1 pm by Alios senior scientist Jin Hong, Ph.D.

About Alios BioPharma

Alios BioPharma, Inc., an emerging biotechnology company headquartered in South San Francisco, California, is developing novel medicines to treat viral diseases by activating pathways in the innate immune system. Alios is developing small-molecule and protein therapeutics addressing major market opportunities.