Clinical-stage regenerative medicine company Regeneus (ASX:RGS) has announced that the Australian Patent Office has granted a key patent covering the use of the company’s allogeneic “off-the-shelf” stem cell technology for the treatment of osteoarthritis and other inflammatory conditions for human and animal applications.
Australian patent number 2012313352, entitled 'Stem cells and secretions for treatment of inflammatory conditions', provides commercial rights in Australia through to 20 September 2032.
The company said it is also pursuing the patent in other key territories including the US, Japan and Europe.
"The patent underpins the company’s Progenza stem cell technology which is a combination of mesenchymal stem cells and secretions from the cells," it said in a statement. "The secretions are the molecules (including cytokines and growth factors) that are secreted by mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)."
This latest patent follows the granting of other Australian patents, including a patent in December 2014 that uses the company’s secretions technology to maintain viability and functionality of MSCs during the freezing and thawing process.
Regeneus’ Progenza technology is the subject of a Phase 1 study for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis in humans, which commenced in Q1 FY16 and is scheduled for final safety readout in Q4 FY16. Regeneus said it has 49 patents or patent applications across 14 patent families, which provides a substantial Intellectual Property position for the company’s product pipeline.