IBC Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (IBC), a subsidiary of Immunomedics, has received notice allowance from USPTO for its “Multiple signaling pathways induced by hexavalent, monospecific and bispecific antibodies for enhanced toxicity to B-cell lymphomas and other diseases.”

This patent, which provides coverage until 2026, concerns methods of use of hexavalent DOCKAND-LOCK (DNL) constructs, comprising antibodies and/or antigen-binding antibody fragments tethered together using the company’s patented platform technology. The allowed claims cover bispecific antibodies that bind to CD20 and CD22 antigens on B cells. The DNL complexes are of use for the treatment of B-cell malignancies or B-cell-related autoimmune diseases.

At the 2012 Annual Meeting of the American Society of Hematology, the Company reported potent anti-tumour activity of a new class of hexavalent bispecific antibodies targeting CD20 and CD22 in an animal model of human non-Hodgkin lymphoma. These DNL complexes extended the median survival time of animals in a statistically significant manner.

“We are pleased to receive this patent. These hexavalent bispecific antibodies are more effective in killing of B cells, even in the absence  of cross-linking antibodies, by inducing multiple signaling pathways in the target cell,” commented Cynthia L Sullivan, president and chief executive officer. “We believe that these next-generation bispecific antibodies may contain the therapeutic properties of both CD20 and CD22 antibodies in a single construct, thus avoiding administration and costs of two  antibodies that appear to show complementary and enhanced activity when combined,” Sullivan further added.

Immunomedics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company primarily focused on the development of monoclonal antibodybased products for the targeted treatment of cancer, autoimmune and other serious diseases