US-PATENT FOR MEDIGENE’S TUMOR VACCINE TECHNOLOGY ISSUED

01-Feb-2001

The biopharmaceutical company MediGene AG (NMarkt: MDG) announced today the issuance of US-Patent US 6,171,595. The granted patent protects MediGene’s method for using recombinant adeno-associated viruses (AAV) to produce tumor vaccines. On the basis of the so-called AAV-technology MediGene is currently developing a tumor vaccine against malignant melanoma together with its partner Aventis. After approval, this novel tumor vaccine is expected to have a sales potential of € 200 million per year.

In addition to this and other already granted patents, MediGene has submitted several further international patent applications regarding the AAV-technology and its use to treat specific diseases. The general patent due diligence process usually takes a few years, but there is a provisional protection for the patent during this time.

The issued patent protects MediGene’s innovative method to modify freshly isolated tumor cells from the patient for the use as a vaccine. MediGene applies safe AAV to deliver immunostimulatory genes into tumor cells. These cells are treated in the laboratory with immunotherapeutic viruses and are then submitted to a treatment that inhibits further growth. The thus modified cells are administered to the patient with the aim to stimulate the body’s immune response and to eliminate remaining tumor cells.

“This patent prevents our competitors world-wide from employing AAV to produce patient-specific tumor vaccines until the year 2017” explained Peter Heinrich, Ph.D., MediGene’s CEO. “The issued patent extends the existing patent protection concerning AAV-technology as a safe and effective method for therapeutic gene delivery. Currently we are applying the technology to develop a vaccine against malignant melanoma, further applications for the treatment of so far incurable diseases are in preparation.”

https://www.chemeurope.com/en/news/1093/us-patent-for-medigenes-tumor-vaccine-technology-issued.html