NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 17, 2006--ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc. (OTC BB: ZIOP), announced today it received a notice of allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Organization in a second organic arsenic case, its first organic arsenic case having already issued. The allowed claims cover the treatment of cancer using organic arsenics, including ZIO-101, in combination with other agents or therapies. The Company believes this significantly strengthens its intellectual property platform in order to develop and ultimately commercialize ZIO-101. “We are thrilled to have a very strong patent position for our lead product, ZIO-101, and expect more patent allowances to follow, positioning us with a very firm patent estate for both ZIO-101 and ZIO-201,” commented Jonathan Lewis, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer. “Intellectual property protection, rather than just Orphan Drug status alone, is a key element of our strategy for identifying products that are related to successfully marketed cancer agents and developing them for more effective and safer cancer therapy.”
