Ark Therapeutics Group plc announced that the European Patent Office (EPO) has granted the company a patent covering the use of agents that affect the angiotensin-renin system for the prevention and treatment of stroke. The grant triggers a milestone payment from Ark's existing licensee, Boehringer Ingelheim, and may open the way to further commercial agreements with other companies in the future.
The patent (EP 1 498 124 B1) is confirmed as covering 23 molecules belonging to the therapeutic classes of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and angiotensin II receptor (ATII) blockers, many of which are in late stage development or are already being promoted for stroke. The geographic scope of the patent comprises the 18 European countries that belonged to the European Patent Convention in 1998. The European patent will give protection in the applicable European countries until 2018 and is effective from 1998. Separate patent applications are under prosecution in a number of other international territories including the USA.
In April 2005, Ark signed a licence agreement with Boehringer Ingelheim granting rights to Ark's intellectual property for the use of its products affecting the renin-angiotensin system. The deal comprised upfront and milestone payments and undisclosed royalties on sales of Boehringer Ingelheim's products for the indication of stroke in all territories in which Ark has secured patent protection. Further financial details of the agreement have not been disclosed.
Dr Nigel Parker, CEO of Ark, commented: 'We are very pleased to receive the formal grant of this patent. We have always been excited by the novelty and significance of the mitochondrial science supporting the patent, which has now led to grants in three different indications. We are reviewing the final wording of the patent with a view to evaluating the commercial licensing potential beyond our existing deal.'
Ark Therapeutics Group plc is a specialist healthcare group addressing high value areas of unmet medical need within vascular disease, wound care and cancer.