Integral Molecular, Inc. Expands Intellectual Property Landscape With International Patents Protecting Key Lipoparticle Technology

PHILADELPHIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Integral Molecular, a leader in membrane protein antibody discovery, has announced the issuance of two key patents in Europe and the U.S., strengthening the company's rapidly expanding patent portfolio for its Lipoparticle technology which enables antibody discovery against challenging membrane protein targets.

“These new patents represent a significant milestone in our global business strategy and complement our existing patent portfolio”

Patent EP166038 marks the company’s first issued European patent, providing broad coverage for the company’s Lipoparticle technology and its numerous applications to antibody discovery and characterization. U.S. patent 9,213,027 is directed towards applications of Lipoparticles in antibody screening and isolation.

“These new patents represent a significant milestone in our global business strategy and complement our existing patent portfolio,” said Dr. Benjamin Doranz, President and CEO of Integral. “Our intellectual property estate now expands into Europe, a key market where we have built a large base of clients and strategic partners, including all the top pharmaceutical companies. The broadened patent coverage in the U.S. and Europe further enhances our position for licensing and partnership opportunities.”

Membrane proteins are the targets of more than 50 percent of FDA-approved drugs yet are notoriously challenging for antibody discovery. Integral Molecular's proprietary antibody discovery platform, the MPS Discovery Engine^®, overcomes many challenges associated with membrane protein targets. Lipoparticles represent a key component of MPS, consisting of virus-like particles that present highly-concentrated membrane proteins in their native conformation. MPS is built around an exclusive technique of optimally combined Lipoparticle and DNA immunizations in chickens, thus providing a superior strategy for eliciting monoclonal antibodies even for structurally-complex, evolutionarily conserved targets. MPS has been successfully used to discover potent monoclonal antibodies against a variety of difficult membrane protein targets such as the P2X3 ion channel, GLUT4 transporter, and Chikungunya virus envelope protein.

About Integral Molecular

Integral Molecular is a research-driven biotechnology company creating a pipeline of therapeutic antibodies against under-exploited membrane protein targets, including GPCRs, ion channels, transporters, and viral envelope proteins, using its proprietary MPS Discovery Engine^®. This platform is built on the company’s Lipoparticle and Shotgun Mutagenesis technologies and over 15 years of experience optimizing membrane proteins, enabling the isolation, characterization, and engineering of monoclonal antibodies against otherwise intractable membrane protein targets. Integral Molecular discovers antibodies for partners in parallel with its own independent work developing antibodies for licensing. The company currently has therapeutic programs focused on pain, autoimmunity, and infectious diseases.