Heidelberg, March 24 2009 – SYGNIS Pharma AG (Frankfurt: LIO; ISIN DE0005043509; Prime Standard) announced that the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) today granted the patent for AX200 for the treatment of stroke patients. The USPTO thus confirms the Notice of Allowance which was published in December 2008 and grants SYGNIS protection for its lead compound, AX200, in the indication of acute ischemic stroke in the USA. The patent was issued as U.S. Patent No. 7,507,705.
“This decision by the USPTO strengthens our position in the world’s largest pharmaceutical market and confirms our strategy of increasing the commercial potential of our compounds through broadened patent protection. We look forward to continuing the development of AX200 in acute ischemic stroke with the forthcoming initiation of our planned phase II efficacy trial” said Dr. Alfred Bach, CEO of SYGNIS.
In June 2006, SYGNIS exclusively licensed the respective global rights to this patent application from the Max-Planck Gesellschaft. The corresponding European patent was already granted by the European Patent Office in 2004.
About AX200
AX200 is a biological molecule, developed by SYGNIS for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. In the indication stroke it is the most advanced drug candidate in SYGNIS’ product pipeline. In Summer 2007 the Phase IIa of the clinical development was successfully completed. AX200 is an endogenous protein. As part of the body’s own protective action the production of AX200 is boosted after brain damage. If the molecule is given as a medication it increases the existing endogenous response to the damage. SYGNIS pursues a multiple neurotherapeutic approach in the development of AX200 for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases: AX200 stops neuronal cell death in the acute phase of the disease while at the same time stimulating the regeneration of the already damaged CNS through the stimulation of neurogenesis as well as arteriogenesis and the reorganisation of neuronal networks.
About SYGNIS Pharma
SYGNIS Pharma AG, headquartered in Heidelberg, is a specialty pharmaceutical company listed on the Prime Standard of the German stock exchange. The Company is focused on the research, development and marketing of innovative therapies for the treatment of disorders of the Central Nervous System. These include Stroke, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and neurological disorders resulting from injuries to the brain or spinal cord. All these disorders are characterized by the fact that, as the disease progresses, nerve cells are damaged and die. Although there is great medical demand, there are currently no or only inadequate treatment options available.
One of the central elements in this value-creation chain is the continued development of the existing product pipeline. This is achieved by testing the Company’s proprietary compounds which are already under development in a number of further CNS indications (“line extension”). By means of specific R&D programs at SYGNIS, new pre-clinical drug candidates are identified and evaluated and suitable CNS product candidates are also systematically tested for the purpose of acquisition or in-licensing.
