Antex Biologics Inc announced that Antex Pharma Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary, has received a "notice of allowance" from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for claims covering a novel group of chemical compounds, including claims for composition of matter and the methods of using the compounds as antibiotics and for other therapeutic applications.

Preclinical studies have shown that members of the benzazepine family of compounds have selective narrow spectrum activity, specifically targeting Helicobacter pylori, the causative agent of peptic ulcers and stomach cancer. "The compounds show interesting activity against H. pylori," remarked Dr. Joanna Clancy, Director of Anti-Infectives. "The selective nature of the compound's activity offers many advantages over existing broad spectrum therapies. By selectively targeting and killing H. pylori bacteria alone, the normal flora of the stomach are not disturbed and the likelihood of other organisms developing unintended resistance to the drug is significantly reduced."

The Company currently has a patent portfolio totaling 116 issued patents and over 300 pending patent applications. The Company anticipates that this patent allowance will be formally issued later in the quarter, providing patent protection through 2020 and significantly strengthening the Company's intellectual property position in its anti-infective program. Antex recently announced several other developments in its anti-infective program that demonstrates the novelty of Antex's new chemical entities and antibiotic compounds in fighting antibiotic resistance and biofilms.

In recently reported studies, the Company's leading antibiotic, AP158, was active not only against methicillin, vancomycin and mupirocin resistant Staphylococcus aureus, but also against biofilm formation. Mupirocin is a leading commercially available antibiotic used extensively in hospitals to treat Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pyogenes infections in surgical patients undergoing general, gynecologic, cardiothoracic and neurosurgical operations, as well as in patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis and in intensive care units. Recent independent analyses, including the Sentry Anti-microbial Surveillance Program sponsored by the University of Iowa and Tufts University, have documented significant increases in the frequency of mupirocin-resistant bacteria. In addition to mupirocin resistant bacteria, AP158 has shown activity against methicillin, macrolide, quinolone, and vancomycin resistant S. aureus; vancomycin resistant enterococci; and macrolide resistant S. pyogenes.

AP158 was shown to completely destroy bacterial biofilms. Bacterial biofilm infections are another major factor in antibiotic resistance. Biofilm infections are found in patients with diseases such as otitis media, the most common acute ear infection in children, cystic fibrosis, and Legionnaire's Disease, and complicate wound management in diabetic, burn and immunocompromised patients. Biofilms form when bacteria attach to liquid-exposed surfaces, such as indwelling catheters, medical implants, prosthetics, and other medical devices, industrial material and equipment, and even everyday household surfaces.

Biofilms tend to be highly resistant to antibiotics. In 2002, the first cases of vancomycin resistant S. aureus infections were reported; one of these infections was related to biofilm formed on an indwelling catheter. AP158 demonstrated effectiveness in destroying S. aureus biofilms whereas oxacillin and vancomycin were ineffective. Additionally, early studies demonstrated that AP158 prevented biofilm formation.