Agennix AG announced that the US Patent and Trademark Office has issued patent number 7,901,879, entitled, “Lactoferrin in the treatment of malignant neoplasms and other hyperproliferative diseases.” The patent, which has a term until 2025, covers the use of oral human lactoferrins, including talactoferrin, for the treatment of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) and renal cell carcinoma.

Torsten Hombeck, PhD, chief financial officer and member of the company’s management board, said: “This patent further strengthens our intellectual property position for talactoferrin in a key market and, importantly, covers the use of talactoferrin in its lead indication, Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer. We are pleased to have recently completed enrollment in the Fortis-M phase III registration trial evaluating talactoferrin for this use.”

Agennix also reported that a patent application covering the use of talactoferrin in lung cancer has recently received a decision to grant in Japan. This patent would provide protection until 2023. The company has a patent application pending in Europe related to the use of talactoferrin in oncology.

Talactoferrin is an oral biologic therapy with immunomodulatory and antibacterial properties, which is being studied for the treatment of cancer and severe sepsis. Talactoferrin has demonstrated promising activity in randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase II studies in NSCLC, as well as in severe sepsis. Two phase III trials with talactoferrin in NSCLC are ongoing, and one – the Fortis-M trial –completed enrollment in March 2011.

NSCLC is one of the most common types of cancer worldwide and the most frequent cause of cancer death. Agennix also plans to develop talactoferrin further for the treatment of severe sepsis and plans to initiate a phase II/III trial in that indication. Talactoferrin has been shown to be very well tolerated in these patient populations.

Agennix AG is a publicly listed biopharmaceutical company that is focused on the development of novel therapies that have the potential to substantially improve the length and quality of life of critically ill patients in areas of major unmet medical need.