PROLOR Biotech Receives Notice of Allowance for New U.S. Patent
Covering Broad Applications of its CTP Platform for Long Acting
Therapeutic Proteins
NES-ZIONA, Israel, Jan. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- PROLOR Biotech, Inc.
(NYSE MKT: PBTH) today announced that it received a notice of
allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for a patent
application covering the company's CTP platform, which has the
potential to extend the duration of activity of therapeutic
proteins. The allowed claims cover manufacturing methods for
CTP-modified compositions of a wide array of classes of therapeutic
proteins, including hormones, high affinity protein ligands,
proteins that induce or regulate an immune response, proteins
involved with autocrine and paracrine activities, and mimetics of
these therapeutic proteins, as well as other types of proteins.
This new U.S. patent is expected to be issued in the next few
months.
"Upon issuance, this new patent is expected to further
strengthen PROLOR's expanding intellectual property portfolio
covering the CTP platform, as well as the new products we are
developing using this versatile technology," said Shai Novik, president of PROLOR.
About PROLOR's CTP Technology
PROLOR's CTP technology is based on the naturally-occurring
human carboxyl terminal peptide (CTP). When attached to a
therapeutic protein, CTP significantly extends the length of time
the protein remains active in the body. Clinical and
preclinical studies have shown that the CTP technology appears to
be safe and effective in extending the duration of all proteins
tested to date. CTP's safety and efficacy have also been
validated by the marketing approval of Merck's long-acting
CTP-enhanced fertility drug Elonva® (FSH-CTP). A
single Elonva injection replaces a regimen of seven daily FSH
injections. Results from a Phase II trial of PROLOR's
CTP-modified human growth hormone (hGH-CTP) in growth hormone
deficient adults showed that a single weekly injection of hGH-CTP
has the potential to replace seven consecutive daily injections of
currently marketed human growth hormone. CTP was identified
by researchers at Washington University
in St. Louis and is exclusively
licensed to PROLOR for all proteins and peptides, except for four
endocrine proteins that are licensed to Merck. CTP is
manufactured using standard industrial biotech processes.
ABOUT PROLOR
PROLOR Biotech, Inc. is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical
company applying unique technologies, including patented CTP
technology, primarily to develop longer-acting proprietary versions
of already approved therapeutic proteins that currently generate
billions of dollars in annual global sales. The CTP
technology is applicable to virtually all proteins. PROLOR is
currently developing a long-acting version of human growth hormone,
which successfully completed a Phase II clinical trial. It
also is developing long-acting versions of Factor VIIa and Factor
IX for hemophilia and a GLP-1/Glucagon dual receptor agonist
peptide for diabetes and obesity, all of which are in preclinical
development. For more information, visit
http://www.prolor-biotech.com.
Safe Harbor Statement: This press release
contains forward-looking statements, which may be identified by
words such as "expects," "plans," "projects," "will," "may,"
"anticipates," "believes," "should," "would", "intends,"
"estimates," "suggests," "has the potential to" and other words of
similar meaning, including statements regarding the results of
current clinical studies and preclinical experiments and the
effectiveness of PROLOR's long-acting protein programs, which are
made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Investors are
cautioned that forward-looking statements involve risks and
uncertainties that may affect PROLOR's business and prospects,
including the risks that PROLOR may not succeed in generating any
revenues or developing any commercial products, including any
long-acting versions of human growth hormone, erythropoietin,
interferon beta, GLP-1 and other products; that the long-acting
products in development may fail, may not achieve the expected
results or effectiveness and/or may not generate data that would
support the approval or marketing of these products for the
indications being studied or for other indications; that ongoing
studies may not continue to show substantial or any activity; that
the actual dollar amount of any grants from Israel's Office of the Chief Scientist is
uncertain and is subject to policy changes of the Israeli
government, and that such grants may be insufficient to assist with
product development; and other risks and uncertainties that may
cause results to differ materially from those set forth in the
forward-looking statements. The results of clinical trials in
humans may produce results that differ significantly from the
results of clinical and other trials in animals. The results of
early-stage trials may differ significantly from the results of
more developed, later-stage trials. The development of any products
using the CTP platform technology could also be affected by a
number of other factors, including unexpected safety, efficacy or
manufacturing issues, additional time requirements for data
analyses and decision making, the impact of pharmaceutical industry
regulation, the impact of competitive products and pricing and the
impact of patents and other proprietary rights held by competitors
and other third parties. In addition to the risk factors
described above, investors should consider the economic,
competitive, governmental, technological and other factors
discussed in PROLOR's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission. The forward-looking statements contained in this
press release speak only as of the date the statements were made,
and we do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking
statements, except as required under applicable law.
PROLOR
CONTACT:
|
MEDIA
CONTACT:
|
Shai
Novik, President
|
Barbara
Lindheim
|
PROLOR
Biotech,
Inc.
|
BLL
Partners, LLC
|
Tel: +1
866 644-7811
|
+1 212
584-2276
|
Email:
shai@prolor-biotech.com
|
blindheim@bllbiopartners.com
|
SOURCE PROLOR Biotech, Inc.