Lorus Therapeutics Inc, a biopharmaceutical company specializing in the discovery, research and development of pharmaceutical products and technologies for the management of cancer, has received allowance of its first patent in China for novel drug candidates from Lorus’ small molecule programme.

The Chinese patent covers composition of matter for Lorus’ lead anticancer small molecule LOR-253, as well as composition and uses of Lorus’ lead antimicrobial compound LOR-220. This patent protects antimicrobial compositions based on LOR-220 for inhibiting growth of a variety of different pathogens, including drug-resistant bacteria such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE). Lorus has similar patents pending worldwide for LOR-220 and for anticancer uses of LOR-253.

LOR-220 has demonstrated potent activity against a wide range of clinical isolates of drug-resistant bacteria, and is being developed by Lorus as a novel antibacterial compound. LOR-253 is currently in late stage preclinical development. An Investigational New Drug (IND) application for LOR-253 is being finalized for filing with the US FDA for a phase-I dose escalation clinical trial in selected solid tumours.

LOR-253 is a small molecule compound that has shown selective and potent anti-tumour activity in a variety of human cancers, including colon cancer and nonsmall cell lung cancer, and has demonstrated an excellent therapeutic window due to its low toxicity.

LOR-220 is a small molecule developed by Lorus that targets a class of novel bacterial proteins called kinases, which have recently emerged as critical signalling molecules in bacteria.

Lorus is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the research and development of novel therapeutics in cancer.