Lateral Pharma has secured a significant intellectual property milestone with the granting of a U.S. composition-of-matter patent for LAT9997, the company’s next-generation therapeutic candidate targeting the LanCL pathway for the treatment of neuropathic pain.
The patent, awarded by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), grants the Australian company exclusive rights to make, use, and sell LAT9997 in the United States for this indication. In pharmaceutical development, composition-of-matter patents cover the molecular entity itself rather than specific formulations or uses.
LAT9997 represents an optimised evolution of earlier LanCL-targeting compounds developed by the company. The therapy is designed to harness the body’s innate protective mechanisms involved in cellular stress responses and resilience. According to Lateral Pharma, preclinical studies and early translational research, including findings from a human Phase 1b clinical trial, suggest that the compound may modulate biological pathways implicated in neuropathic pain.
This approach could offer a differentiated alternative to existing treatments. Unlike many current therapies, LAT9997 operates through a non-opioid mechanism, targeting the underlying biology of chronic pain rather than simply managing symptoms.
The company’s broader intellectual property portfolio surrounding LanCL-targeting molecules is also expanding. Lateral Pharma holds extensive peptide structural activity relationship (SAR) knowledge, which is being protected through continuation applications in the United States and multiple patent applications in other key jurisdictions. These applications cover a range of small linear and cyclic peptides identified through the company’s SAR research as capable of binding to LanCL proteins and demonstrating functional properties similar to their parent molecules, including analgesic activity. Several of these filings are expected to proceed to a grant in the coming years.
Neuropathic pain, caused by damage or dysfunction within the nervous system, remains one of the most challenging forms of chronic pain to treat effectively. The newly granted patent highlights growing scientific interest in the LanCL pathway as a promising therapeutic target, not only for neuropathic pain but potentially for other neurological conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease.