SciFluor Life Sciences, LLC, an emerging clinical stage biopharmaceutical company that creates innovative therapeutics for patients with ophthalmologic and neurologic disease, announced that the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued US Patent No. 8,916,133 with claims covering the novel compound SF0034. SciFluor’s SF0034 is a potent and selective neuronal potassium channel activator, designed to be a significantly improved version of the first-in-class KCNQ2/3 activator drug, ezogabine (POTIGA). POTIGA was approved in 2011 for treatment of partial-onset epilepsy in adults, but its clinical use was severely restricted in 2013 due to latent toxicities which are not thought to be associated with its mechanism of action.

Scott Edwards, vice president and general manager, said, “The issuance of the patent covering SF0034 provides further validation of our fluorine-centered approach to rapidly discover new transformational therapies for patients with serious illnesses. SF0034 demonstrates how the appropriate fluorine-containing modifications can improve the potency and selectivity of a molecule to address efficacy and safety liabilities.”

Dr. Edwards is the lead on the SF0034 therapeutic programme, which is targeted for development in partial-onset epilepsy and potentially for the recently identified orphan disease, a rare pediatric disorder known as KCNQ2 encephalopathy. Thecompany is also evaluating SF0034’s therapeutic potential for other diseases such as tinnitus and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease).

“The team’s ability to rapidly evolve this candidate and to obtain its second issued patent in a short period of time is outstanding. Protecting this lead compound in such an enormous field as epilepsy is highly impressive. We are excited to advance this compound into the clinic for multiple indications. This is the second of many opportunities at SciFluor that we are pursuing to strategically capitalize on the transformational power of fluorine through internal development. We are also now preparing for partnerships with other innovative pharma companies,” said Omar Amirana, MD, SciFluor’s Chief Executive Officer and Senior Vice President at Allied Minds.

SciFluor is a subsidiary of Allied Minds (LSE: ALM), an innovative U.S. science and technology development and commercialization company.

SciFluor is developing SF0034, a potent and selective small molecule activator of the neuronal potassium channel, KCNQ2/3. The improved selectivity reduces the likelihood of side-effects that are caused by activation of related potassium channels. SF0034 has also been shown to not form the “dimers” that have were reported at the 2014 American Epilepsy Society to play a role in the dermal and ocular toxicity that have been observed with ezogabine. SF0034 has been shown to be potent in a significant battery of in vivo models of epilepsy conducted by the National Institutes of Health.

Epilepsy is the 4th most common neurological problem with an estimated global prevalence of 65 million only migraine, stroke and Alzheimer’s disease occur more frequently. It is best regarded as a spectrum of brain disorders ranging from severe, life-threatening and disabling, to more benign. A number of anti-epileptic drugs have been approved and for certain patients surgical intervention is helpful. However, roughly 30 per cent of patients do not respond to any available therapy highlighting a significant need for new, safe, and effective therapeutic drugs to treat this debilitating condition.