Agennix AG announced that the European Patent Office has issued patent number 1507554, entitled, “Lactoferrin in the treatment of malignant neoplasms and other hyperproliferative diseases,” covering the use of oral human lactoferrins, including talactoferrin, to treat cancer. It also covers the use of talactoferrin in combination with other therapies, including chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation therapy and other treatments. The patent has a term until 2023.

Torsten Hombeck, PhD, Spokesperson of the Management Board and chief financial officer, said: “This patent further strengthens our intellectual property position for talactoferrin in the area of oncology. This European patent provides broad protection for talactoferrin in this key market, as it covers the use of human lactoferrin for oral administration, used alone or in combination with other therapies, for the treatment of all cancer types.  We also have cancer use patents that were recently issued in the US and Japan, two of the other major markets for talactoferrin, that provide protection until 2025 and 2023, respectively, and include coverage for our lead indication, non-small cell lung cancer.”

Talactoferrin is an oral immunotherapy that 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 Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) and in severe sepsis. Two phase III trials with talactoferrin in NSCLC are ongoing. The FORTIS-M trial, which completed enrollment in March 2011, is evaluating talactoferrin in NSCLC patients whose disease has progressed following two or more prior treatment regimens. A second phase III trial – FORTIS-C – is evaluating talactoferrin in combination with the standard chemotherapy regimen, carboplatin/paclitaxel, in first-line NSCLC patients.  NSCLC is one of the most common types of cancer worldwide and the most frequent cause of cancer death. Agennix is also developing talactoferrin for the treatment of severe sepsis and has initiated a phase II/III trial, called the OASIS 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.