QUEBEC CITY, Oct. 25, 2011/PRNewswire/ --Asmacure Ltee, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of nicotinic receptor agonists for the treatment of asthma and other inflammatory diseases, announced today that it has been issued U.S. patent No. 8,039,459 from the United States Patent & Trademark Office (USPTO) entitled “Nicotinic Receptor Agonists for the Treatment of Inflammatory Diseases.” The first patent of this series in the USPTO comprises compounds and pharmaceutical composition claims.
“The issuance of these patents in the U.S. and Japan are important developments for the strong global intellectual property estate for our lead compound, ASM-024,” said Mr. Martin Driscoll, CEO of Asmacure. “This important expansion of the patent protection for ASM-024 is another milestone in the development of our proprietary new mechanism for the treatment of asthma and other respiratory inflammatory diseases.”
The nicotinic receptor agonist compounds developed for the treatment of pulmonary inflammatory diseases were discovered at the Centre de recherche de l’Institut universitaire de cardiologie et de pneumologie de Quebec, a research center affiliated with Universite Laval. Asmacure has an exclusive license from Universite Laval to develop and commercialize any product derived from this technology.
On July 15, 2011, the Japan Patent Office issued the corresponding Japanese patent No. 4783787. The claims within the patent are directed to compounds as well as pharmaceutical compositions for treating or preventing pulmonary inflammatory diseases.
About Asmacure
Asmacure Ltee is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of nicotinic receptor agonists for the treatment of asthma and other inflammatory diseases. The company’s lead compound, ASM-024, is a novel molecular entity currently in clinical development for the treatment of asthma. ASM-024 utilizes Asmacure’s proprietary technology comprised of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor agonists and is the first nicotinic receptor agonist in the clinic for this indication. Phase II proof-of-concept studies are ongoing to assess the anti-inflammatory, bronchodilating and bronchoprotective properties of ASM-024 administered by inhalation.
Asmacure is a privately held company located in Quebec City, Canada. The major investors in Asmacure include Domain Associates, Fonds Bio-Innovation and Innovatech Quebec. For more information visit www.asmacure.com
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SOURCE Asmacure Ltee