BioDiem Ltd, an Australian infectious disease therapy and vaccine development company, has received Chinese divisional patent, which expands the patent position for the company’s novel antimicrobial compound BDM-I. The parent patent was granted in China in 2010 for BDM-I, a synthetic compound being developed by BioDiem as a treatment of serious infections.

The Chinese divisional patent gives BioDiem an additional patent application for BDM-I while keeping the priority rights from its original application.

The divisional patent strengthens the company’s portfolio by granting BioDiem’s claims in China for: BDM-I and compounds related to it chemically, the use of BDM-I as a preventive and therapeutic compound against an array of infectious diseases, BDM-I’s effectiveness against a broad range of micro-organisms which cause serious human disease including tuberculosis, pneumonia, meningitis, malaria, sexually transmitted  and many other diseases caused by bacteria, fungi and protozoa.

“BioDiem is delighted with the grant of a new divisional Chinese patent, which will allow us to pursue a broader range of licensing opportunities in the Chinese jurisdiction,” said Julie Phillips, chief executive officer of BioDiem. “BioDiem will continue to increase the out-licensing value of BDM-I by developing data to support the compound’s broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity.”

Patent applications for BDM-I have currently been granted in China, Russia, Singapore and Australia, as well as in three of the world’s largest patent jurisdictions, Europe, Japan and the US.

Currently BioDiem is progressing further validation of BDM-I’s antimicrobial activity, conducting further studies to explore the scope of BDM-I’s indications with expanded screening studies, and embarking on a new project in collaboration with Griffith University.

BDM-I is a synthetic compound targeting the treatment of serious human infections. BDM-I is in the preclinical stage with outlicensing as the intended outcome. BDM-I is active against a range of pathogenic micro-organisms including gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, fungi and protozoa. Key patents have been granted in Europe, Japan and the US around BDM-I’s antimicrobial activity, including activity against  Plasmodium falciparum, responsible for causing the most commonly severe form of malaria, and Trichomonas vaginalis, the protozoan responsible for causing a common sexually transmitted disease named trichomoniasis.