Symic, a clinical-stage biotherapeutics company developing multiple compounds that target and affect the extracellular matrix (ECM), announced that it continues to fortify the patent protection covering its proteoglycan-based therapeutic platform with US patent number 9,217,016, which will be issued on December 22, 2015.

This patent covers SB-061, a compound that mimics the protective proteoglycan, aggrecan, to reduce cartilage degradation and pain in patients with osteoarthritis (OA).

“This patent, our fourth in the US, further demonstrates our leadership in developing proteoglycan-based therapeutic compounds,” said Ken Horne, chief executive officer of Symic.

“This particular patent provides coverage for proteoglycan mimetics that bind to hyaluronic acid, which can reduce pain and prevent the degradation of cartilage in patients suffering from osteoarthritis. We also recently received patent protection for proteoglycan mimetics that bind collagen, as well as protection for many of the uses of these technologies in the treatment of disease.”

Symic’s primary technology was developed at the Purdue University Weldon School of Biomedical Engineering in the laboratory of Alyssa Panitch, Ph.D., the Leslie A. Geddes professor of biomedical engineering and a founder and scientific advisory board member of Symic.