• Anergis receives notice of allowance from US Patent Office for patent on ultra-fast treatment for ragweed allergies
EPALINGES, Switzerland, December 19, 2014 – Anergis, a company developing proprietary ultra-fast allergy vaccines, today announced that it received a notice of allowance from the US patent authorities for its patent covering composition and methods of use of its ragweed allergy product AllerR. AllerR is based on Anergis´ unique Contiguous Overlapping Peptide (COP) platform. COPs are pharmaceutical-grade, long-peptide immunotherapeutics designed for an ultra-fast, safe and long-lasting treatment of allergy patients.
Ragweed pollen is believed to be the most allergenic of all pollens. Allergies to ragweed pollen are mostly prevalent in the USA, where they affect an estimated 27 million patients, with a high degree of severity in many of them. Among others, ragweed allergies are a major cause of asthma. Fifty percent (50%) of allergic patients in the United States are sensitized to ragweed.
“Allowance of the patent on AllerR in the U.S. is a major milestone in broadening our international patent estate,” said Christophe Reymond, Chief Scientific Officer of Anergis.
“The United States are the most important market for ragweed allergy treatments and this patent is of utmost strategic importance for the further clinical development of AllerR,” added Vincent Charlon, Chief Executive Officer of Anergis.
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About Anergis
Anergis SA is a Swiss-based biopharmaceutical company specializing in the discovery and development of novel, proprietary allergy vaccines that target commercially attractive indications. Anergis´ vaccines are based on its IP-protected Contiguous Overlapping Peptide (COP) technology. Allergies are the most prevalent and fastest growing chronic conditions in the industrialized world affecting over 500 million people.
Anergis’ lead-product AllerT, a vaccine to treat birch pollen allergies, is due to enter Phase III clinical development. Two additional vaccine candidates against ragweed pollen allergies (AllerR) and house dust mite allergies (AllerDM) are in preclinical development.
Anergis has raised around CHF 44 million from private and institutional investors, including BioMedInvest, Renaissance PME, Sunstone Capital, and WJFS, Inc.
About Anergis´ COP Technology
The only curative therapy of allergies available today, known as “desensitization” or “Conventional Allergy Immunotherapy” (AIT), is the process of inducing tolerance to the allergen. It requires 3-5 years of treatment and exposes patients to the risk of serious side effects – in particular immediate (<30 min) anaphylactic reactions – which can be life-threatening. With its ultra-fast desensitization, Anergis is shaping the future of allergy treatment. Anergis’ vaccines are based on COPs which reproduce the complete amino acid sequence of the allergen in separate synthetic long peptides. COP allergy vaccines are pharmaceutical quality products that provide complete allergen sequences of all T cell epitopes, but do not cross-react with IgE, the antibody class responsible for eliciting allergic hypersensitivity. Therefore, COPs can be administered safely independent of MHC restriction and at high doses to induce tolerance to the allergen after only a few injections. This enables desensitization in 2 months as opposed to 3 years. Studies of COPs targeting bee venom and birch pollen allergies in both animals and humans have demonstrated excellent safety (i.e. no immediate allergic reaction) and immunogenicity (production of specific antibodies and cytokines against the original allergen and establishment of a long-term immune memory).
Contact:
Anergis SA
CH-1066 Epalinges
Vincent Charlon, CEO
info@anergis.ch
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