Patents Regarding Cancer and MS Added to Bioniche’s and BioMS’ Portfolio, Respectively

The U.S. PTO approved patents related to methods for the possible treatment of some types of cancer and the prediction of anticancer activity to Bioniche Life Sciences, as well as patents regarding ways to forecast performance of some multiple sclerosis (MS) therapies to BioMS Medical.

Bioniche was granted three new patents for its Mycobacterial Cell Wall-DNA Complex (MCC) and the related oligonucleotides. The patent entitled "Hyaluronic acid in the treatment of cancer", granted in the U.S., covers the composition and methods regarding the use of hyaluronic acid in combination with the company's MCC and oligonucleotide technologies for the treatment of cancer. The patent also covers the use of hyaluronic acid with tamoxifen.

MCC has been shown to have immune stimulatory and apoptosis inducing activity against cancer cells. A formulation of MCC completed a Phase I/II trial to treat superficial bladder cancer (SBC). Bioniche says that it is planning a pivotal, multicenter program in North America and Europe to confirm the efficacy and safety of MCC in patients with high-risk SBC. MCC is a composition prepared from Mycobacterium phlei, a saprophytic mycobacteria.

Bioniche also received two additional patents focusing on oligonucleotides, one in Europe and one in the U.S. The European patent, "Conformation-Activity Relationship of Apoptosis-Inducing Phosphodiester Oligonucleotides", describes the invention of a computer-based method to predict the anticancer activity of oligonucleotides. The U.S. patent, "Oligonucleotide compositions and their use to induce differentiation of cells", is based on method claims for 3'-OH, 5'-OH, a chemically unmodified synthetic phosphodiester oligonucleotide for use in both animals and humans with diseases associated with insufficient differentiation of cells or to increase differentiation of pluriopotent cells. Such diseases include leukemia and lymphoma.

Bioniche believes that its Oligomodulator™ class of molecules may have clinical applications in the fields of cancer and immune modulation. These molecules are composed of short nonantisense DNA oligonucleotides with novel pharmacological activities.

Also receiving patents was the University of Alberta for BioMS Medical’s synthetic peptide therapeutic, MBP8298, in the U.S. for the treatment of MS. Entitled "Methods of predicting therapeutic efficacy of treatment of a multiple sclerosis patient", the patent addresses techniques to predict efficacy of particular MS therapies. BioMS Medical licenses these patents on an exclusive worldwide basis from the University of Alberta.