SAN DIEGO, CA, March 29 /PRNewswire/ - Nventa Biopharmaceuticals Corporation announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued Reexamination Certificates for patents U.S. 6,335,183 and U.S. 6,338,952, concluding the ex-parte reexaminations process, and allowing both patents to be maintained in amended form. These patents form the basis of Nventa’s proprietary CoVal(TM) technology platform, from which the Company’s product candidate pipeline has been generated, and allow patent exclusivity through 2019. Additional patents owned by Nventa relating to HspE7, the Company’s lead investigational therapeutic vaccine for human papillomavirus (HPV)-related diseases, allow patent exclusivity through 2021.
The patents, as amended, continue to provide broad coverage for fusion protein compositions and their use as immunotherapeutic agents to induce or enhance an individual’s immune response. In particular, the patents relate to protein compositions comprised of mycobacterial heat shock proteins (also known as stress proteins) covalently fused to viral or cancer antigens, the DNA encoding for such fusion proteins, as well as methods of inducing or enhancing an antigen-specific immune response in an individual.
“We are very pleased with the results of the reexamination of the patents covering our core technology, which is licensed from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) and the Whitehead Institute,” said Gregory M. McKee, President and Chief Executive Officer of Nventa. “This ruling by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office validates that our CoVal(TM) fusion proteins are unique and demonstrate the use of the body’s own immune system to mount an attack against viral or cancerous infections. We are currently poised to re-enter the clinic with HspE7, our lead CoVal(TM) fusion protein candidate. We expect to begin a Phase 1 study in mid-2007 in cervical dysplasia patients using our new formulation of HspE7.”
About Nventa Corporation:
Nventa is developing innovative therapeutics for the treatment of viral infections and cancer, with a focus on diseases caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). The corporation is publicly traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol NVN. For more information about Nventa, please visit the website located at www.nventacorp.com.
This press release contains statements which, to the extent that they are not recitations of historical fact may constitute forward-looking information under applicable Canadian securities legislation or forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements or information may include financial and other projections as well as statements regarding the Company’s future plans, objectives, performance, revenues, growth, profits, operating expenses or the Company’s underlying assumptions. The words “may”, “would”, “could”, “will”, “likely”, “expect”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “estimate”, “plan”, “forecast”, “project” and “believe” or other similar words and phrases are intended to identify forward-looking statements or information. Persons reading this press release are cautioned that such statements or information are only predictions, and that the Company’s actual future results or performance may be materially different.
Forward-looking statements or information in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements or information concerning the coverage provided by these patents, our ability to re-enter the clinic with our lead product candidate HspE7 and our expectation to begin a Phase 1 study in mid-2007 in cervical dysplasia patients using HspE7 plus an adjuvant. Such forward-looking statements or information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, events or developments, to be materially different from any future results, events or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such factors include potential challenges to our patents, risks associated with obtaining approvals by government agencies and our dependence on suppliers, collaborative partners and other third parties. Given these risks and uncertainties, you are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements and information, which are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.
Assumptions underlying our expectations regarding forward-looking statements or information contained in this press release include, among others, that challenges to our patent, if any, will not be successful, that we will obtain the necessary regulatory approvals in a timely manner, that we will obtain timely approval from institutional review boards, that enough HspE7 will be available to conduct our Phase I study; that we will be able to procure the necessary amount of adjuvant to conduct our Phase I study, that the results from additional preclinical work, if any, will be consistent with the results we have already obtained.
For a complete discussion of the assumptions, risks and uncertainties related to our business, you are encouraged to review our filings, including our 2006 Annual Information Form, with Canadian securities regulatory authorities on SEDAR at http://www.sedar.com.
All forward-looking statements and information made herein are based on our current expectations as of the date hereof and we disclaim any intention or obligation to revise or update such forward-looking statements and information to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law.
CONTACT: Donna Slade, Director, Investor Relations, 9381 Judicial Drive, Suite 180, San Diego, CA, USA 92121, Dir: (858) 202-4945, dslade@nventacorp.com
Nventa Biopharmaceuticals Corporation
CONTACT: Donna Slade, Director, Investor Relations, 9381 Judicial Drive,Suite 180, San Diego, CA, USA 92121, Dir: (858) 202-4945,dslade@nventacorp.com
