InDex Pharmaceuticals Holding AB (publ), a pharmaceutical development company focusing on immunological diseases, announced that a patent covering 19 compounds from the company’s DIMS platform has been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

InDex has a discovery stage portfolio of more than 150 DNA-based ImmunoModulatory Sequences (DIMS), several of which are already protected by approved composition-of-matter patents. The new US patent, entitled Methods for identifying biologically active oligonucleotides capable of modulating the immune system (patent number 9593337), covers both the composition-of-matter and method-of-use of 19 different DIMS compounds for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, cancer and infectious diseases. The patent was filed in 2011 and provides an exclusivity period until December 2031, with the possibility of up to 5 years term extension after market approval.

“We continue the work to broaden our preclinical DIMS portfolio in parallel with the clinical development of our lead drug candidate cobitolimod,” said Peter Zerhouni, CEO of InDex Pharmaceuticals. “This new patent further strengthens our robust intellectual property portfolio and we are very pleased that the USPTO confirms the novelty of our DIMS platform.”

InDex’s DIMS compunds are synthetic oligonucleotides that function as immunomodulatory agents by targeting Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9). DIMS mimic bacterial DNA, without being harmful, and stimulate immune cells to produce beneficial anti-inflammatory cytokines that help to dampen inflammation. This opens up opportunities for the treatment of different inflammatory conditions, in which the immune responses are imbalanced. The company’s foremost asset is the drug candidate cobitolimod, which is in late stage clinical development for the treatment of moderate to severe active ulcerative colitis. Besides cobitolimod there are other DIMS candidates that the company has selected for further preclinical development. InDex has been awarded a grant of SEK 1.8 million for this development from the Swedish innovation agency Vinnova.