NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - October 27, 2015) - iBio, Inc. (NYSE MKT: IBIO), a leader in plant-based biotechnology for developing and manufacturing biological products, today announced receipt of notice from the European Patent Office that the opposition period for a patent granted to iBio has expired and no opposition has been filed.
The patent, entitled “System for Expression of Genes in Plants” (European patent EP 2192172), is a component of the company’s iBioLaunch™ technology platform being used by iBio for development of its own fibrosis therapeutics products. iBio also offers use of its iBioLaunch technology platform to third parties for development of their products under license and commercial collaboration agreements.
iBio’s technology platform is designed to offer superior alternatives to traditional methods of biopharmaceutical development and manufacturing. It has been used to advance development of certain products that have been commercially infeasible to develop with conventional technologies such as Chinese hamster ovary cell systems and microbial fermentation methods. In the case of iBio’s own fibrosis drug candidate, IBIO-CFB03, the company has determined that its platform enables production of a product that has superior formulation properties and is less costly than the original candidate produced via conventional peptide synthesis.
This European patent includes claims covering methods for expressing one or more polynucleotides of interest using a set of plant viral vectors that function together. The polynucleotides of interest can include, for example, those encoding therapeutic proteins, one or more antibody chains, nutritionally relevant proteins, and polynucleotides that provide a template for transcription of an active RNA species.
“This patent enlarges market protection of our innovative plant-made protein production technology,” stated Robert Erwin, iBio’s president. “By using the advantages of our iBioLaunch technology together with our exclusive license of Novici Biotech’s patented GRAMMR® gene and protein enhancement technology, we have been able to increase the expression yield of therapeutic proteins such as antibodies, improve their functional properties, and reduce production costs versus conventional approaches. Some of our product applications are targeted for commercialization via iBio’s subsidiary company, iBio do Brasil Biofarmaceutical Ltda. iBio expects others to be of interest to commercial partners in the U.S., Europe, and/or Japan.
“Additionally, this European patent will add another layer of protection to commercialization of our fibrosis program in the important European market. Prevalence of fibrotic disease in Europe comprises approximately 80,000 patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and approximately 100,000 with systemic sclerosis.”
About iBio, Inc.
iBio is developing proprietary products for the treatment of a range of fibrotic diseases including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, systemic sclerosis, and scleroderma. IBIO-CFB03, produced using the company’s iBioLaunch gene expression platform, is the first product candidate from this program being advanced for IND development. The company also offers proprietary products and product licenses to others, based on its proprietary iBioLaunch gene expression and iBioModulator™ thermostable immunomodulator protein platforms, providing collaborators full support for turn-key implementation of its technology for protein therapeutics and vaccines.
In Brazil, iBio has formed a subsidiary company, iBio do Brasil Biofarmaceutical Ltda., and has been collaborating with the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) to develop a recombinant yellow fever vaccine based on iBio technology. Further information is available at: www.ibioinc.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
STATEMENTS INCLUDED IN THIS NEWS RELEASE RELATED TO IBIO, INC. MAY CONSTITUTE FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE PRIVATE SECURITIES LITIGATION REFORM ACT OF 1995. SUCH STATEMENTS INVOLVE A NUMBER OF RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES SUCH AS COMPETITIVE FACTORS, TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT, MARKET DEMAND, AND THE COMPANY’S ABILITY TO OBTAIN NEW CONTRACTS AND ACCURATELY ESTIMATE NET REVENUES DUE TO VARIABILITY IN SIZE, SCOPE AND DURATION OF PROJECTS. FURTHER INFORMATION ON POTENTIAL RISK FACTORS THAT COULD AFFECT THE COMPANY’S FINANCIAL RESULTS CAN BE FOUND IN THE COMPANY’S REPORTS FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION.
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