Lpath granted key Sphingomab US patent

San Diego, USA-based Lpath, which claims to be the leading developer of drugs targeting bioactive lipids, says it has been issued a US patent that broadly relates to methods of treating cancer using Sphingomab, its lead drug candidate.

"This broad patent helps to secure Lpath's proprietary position with regard to Sphingomab and other S1P-binding agents for the treatment of cancer," said Roger Sabbadini, Lpath's chief scientific officer. The agent is a monoclonal antibody against sphingosine-1-phosphate, a bioactive lipid that has been well-validated as a cancer drug target.

The firm noted that Sphingomab has recently been humanized and is in pre-clinical development, adding that the US Food and Drug Administration is expected to approve this version of the agent for a Phase I human clinical trial by the end of the the year.