Eight new patent applications filed by e-therapeutics

Computational drug discovery and development company e-therapeutics announced the filing of eight further patent applications in the United States on Monday, to protect innovation arising from its proprietary ‘GalNAc-siRNA’ technology.

The AIM-traded firm said it uses its proprietary GalNAc-siRNA technology to silence any gene in liver hepatocytes.

As it announced in October, its GalNAc-siRNA constructs had demonstrated “compelling” in-vivo performance in terms of depth of gene silencing and duration of action.

The eight patent applications related to innovation arising from the company's work on its pipeline of pre-clinical siRNA candidates in several therapeutic areas, including innovation around novel target ideas and associated disease-relevant biology identified using the company's computational platform, novel siRNA therapeutics and novel siRNA chemistries associated with such siRNA therapeutics.

It noted that the applications followed its May announcement, as part of its year-end results statement, that 11 patent applications had been filed to protect proprietary and novel GalNAc-siRNA silencing construct designs.

“This second announcement of significant patent filings within three months demonstrates fast and meaningful scientific and technological progress. It also reflects our commitment to protecting the company's proprietary innovation, which forms a critical part of our strategy as we continue to make material steps in developing a computationally driven in-house pipeline of highly differentiated RNAi medicines at speed,” said chief executive officer Ali Mortazavi.

“Our computational platform not only affords us an important advantage in drug discovery, but also in intellectual property strategy, and we are leveraging this position in our patent applications.”

At 0842 BST, shares in e-therapeutics were up 4.87% at 22.6p.

Reporting by Josh White at Sharecast.com.