Esperion Therapeutics Inc announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office have issued another patent in the RLT Peptide patent portfolio, which is exclusively licensed by Esperion. The most recent issuance is United States Patent Number 6,287,590, titled "Peptide/Lipid Complex Formation by Co-Lyophilization," which claims the method to produce pharmaceutical compositions including ETC-642 by co-lyophilization of peptide and phospholipids. Esperion's RLT Peptide patent portfolio now includes four issued United States patents and numerous patent applications in the United States and worldwide exclusively licensed to the Company covering novel peptides, pharmaceutical compositions, processes and therapeutic applications.

RLT Peptide mimics the biological properties of Apolipoprotein-I, a key protein in HDL, to promote reverse lipid transport, and is being developed for the treatment of acute coronary disease. ETC-642 is a complex of peptide and phospholipids that mimics the functions of natural HDL. ETC-642 has been shown to increase the HDL cholesterol fraction and to enhance cholesterol mobilization in preclinical studies. Because of these properties, Esperion believes that administration of ETC-642 may stimulate cholesterol removal in human patients.

"Through the issuance of this patent, Esperion is adding another crucial piece to the patent estate around ETC-642," stated Roger S. Newton, President and Chief Executive Officer of Esperion. "The RLT Peptide program is truly a novel development effort. The RLT peptide is the first synthetic peptide under development for the treatment of cardiovascular disease that mimics the physico-chemical and biological properties of Apolipoprotein A-I when associated to lipids."