Regeneron Receives U.S. Patent Covering AXOKINE; Obesity Drug Candidate Now Protected By Multiple U.S. and Foreign Patents
Businesswire, Thursday, October 31, 2002 at 07:31
TARRYTOWN, N.Y., Oct 31, 2002 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Regeneron Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: REGN) today announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted Regeneron U.S. Patent No. 6,472,178 covering an isolated nucleic acid molecule that encodes AXOKINE(R), an expression vector containing this molecule, and methods of production of the molecule.
AXOKINE, Regeneron's most advanced therapeutic candidate, is currently being evaluated in a Phase III program for obesity.
AXOKINE is derived from the naturally occurring human protein, Ciliary Neurotrophic Factor (CNTF). Regeneron now owns 14 United States patents covering CNTF, modifications to CNTF, AXOKINE, and methods of production and therapeutic applications of AXOKINE. The Company also owns more than 100 patents in this field issued outside the United States and has a number of patent applications still pending."This patent is a further reflection of Regeneron's innovation in discovering unique therapeutic molecules to address serious medical problems. We continue to expand our patent portfolio for AXOKINE, Cytokine Traps, and other important inventions derived from our research organization,"said Leonard S. Schleifer, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Regeneron."Regeneron has initiated a Phase III program for AXOKINE for the treatment of obesity that is expected to include a total of approximately 4,000 subjects. Preclinical studies have shown that injected AXOKINE travels through the bloodstream to reach a critical area of the brain, known as the hypothalamus, that regulates body weight. AXOKINE is believed to bind to specific receptors and activate key signaling pathways in the hypothalamus that suppress appetite and subsequently lead to reduction in body weight. Currently, the Company is conducting four separate trials for AXOKINE and plans to initiate other specialized studies in the near future. The initial pivotal trial, which enrolled approximately 2,000 subjects, includes a twelve-month treatment period which is expected to be completed in January 2003. It will be followed by a twelve-month open-label safety extension phase.
About Regeneron
Regeneron is a biopharmaceutical company that discovers, develops, and intends to commercialize therapeutic medicines for the treatment of serious medical conditions. Regeneron has therapeutic candidates in clinical trials for the potential treatment of obesity, rheumatoid arthritis, cancer, and asthma and has preclinical programs in other diseases and disorders. Regeneron's platform technologies include Targeted Genomics(TM), Functionomics(TM), and Designer Protein Therapeutics(TM). |
