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.
