Elicera Therapeutics receives important EU patent
The European Patent Office intends to grant Elicera’s patent application regarding the use of the company’s iTANK technology in CAR T-cell therapies. In a comment to BioStock, the company’s CEO Jamal El-Mosleh says that the patent is an important step forward in the ongoing commercialisation process.
A potentially powerful revenue engine for Gothenburg-based immuno-oncology company Elicera Therapeutics is its proprietary technology iTANK platform (Immunotherapies Activated with NAP for efficient Killing). With the help of iTANK, Elicera has developed three of its four drug candidates – the two CAR T-cell therapies ELC-301 and ELC-401, and the oncolytic virus ELC-201.
The strength of iTANK is that it can arm CAR T-cells with immune-activating properties to optimise its effect. This makes it tailored to meet tumour-antigen heterogeneity and a hostile tumour microenvironment – two major challenges for current CAR T-cell therapies in the treatment of solid tumors.
Patent approval in the EU
On July 11, Elicera received a Notice of Allowance from the European Patent Office (EPO) for its patent application regarding the use of the iTANK technology in CAR T-cell therapies. Thus, EPO intends to grant the patent application after certain formal steps have been completed.
This confirmation of patentability is important as it gives Elicera legal protection and exclusive rights to iTANK and its commercialisation opportunities until 2036. In the long run, it can help attract investors, new collaborations and partnerships, secure licensing agreements and, not least, generate revenue.
In addition, the announcement testifies to the company’s ability to protect its intellectual property rights, which increases the likelihood of securing R&D funding, clinical trials and a further broadened pipeline. Potential partners and investors are more likely to support a company with strong IP protection because it reduces risk and increases the potential for ROI.
In a comment to BioStock, Jamal El-Mosleh, CEO of Elicera Therapeutics, says:
The content of BioStock’s news and analyses is independent but the work of BioStock is to a certain degree financed by life science companies. The above article concerns a company from which BioStock has received financing.“I am very pleased with this announcement as it strengthens the protection of one of our key assets. Our method of arming therapies with immunostimulatory properties is unique because it can be used universally to arm any CAR T-cell treatment. Therefore, the patent constitutes an important step in future and ongoing partner discussions regarding iTANK.”
