Viralytics secures key EU patent

Sydney, Australia-based Viralytics says it has been granted a European patent covering its core technology. The company had announced in May that a Notice of Allowance had been received and that, subject to the completion of a number of administrative matters, a patent was expected to be granted later in the year. The patent provides Viralytics with exclusive use of Coxsackie A group viruses (including the firm's lead product Cavatak) for the treatment of all cancers expressing the ICAM-1 molecule until 2020.

Darren Shafren, chief scientist for Viralytics and inventor of the technology said: "the patent is similar to the patent granted in the United States of America in April 2008 covering the company's core technology. Together, these patents give the company a strong intellectual property foundation for potential out-licensing and commercialization of our products and technology."

Numerous cancers have elevated levels of ICAM-1 on their cell surfaces and the presence of ICAM-1 allows the Viralytics family of viruses to lock onto the surface of cancer cells to infect and destroy them as described in the patent. Cavatak, the company's lead product, is currently undergoing two Phase I mono-therapy trials in patients with late-stage melanoma, breast and prostate cancer, having completed an initial three-person Phase I safety study in late-stage melanoma patients.