Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. a clinical stage pharmaceutical company commercializing potential best in class oncology and CNS therapeutics, announced that the European Patent Office has granted European patent No. 1819698 to Rexahn for its novel anti-cancer quinoxalinyl-piperazine compounds.

This European patent covers several new quinoxalinyl-piperazine compounds, the process for their preparation, pharmaceutical composition, and a method for their producing an anti-proliferative effect. The patent also covers Rexahn’s pre-clinical compound RX-5902, which is currently being developed by the company and human trials are expected to start this year.

RX-5902 is an orally available new chemical entity that exhibits extremely potent anti-tumour properties in several tumours including melanoma. The compound also exhibits strong anti-proliferative activity against known anti-cancer drug-resistance cancer cells, as well as a synergistic effect with known anti-cancer drugs as demonstrated in Rexahn’s recent research article [Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry, 18:7966-7974, 2010].

Rick Soni, president, Rexahn said, “The issuance of this patent will enhance the commercial potential of RX-5902 in Europe- one of the largest markets of cancer therapeutics in the world, and further strengthens our overall global intellectual property position in oncology.”

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a clinical stage pharmaceutical company dedicated to developing and commercializing first in class and market leading therapeutics for cancer, CNS disorders, sexual dysfunction and other unmet medical needs.