TapImmune, Inc., a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company, has received a Notice of Allowance from the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for its patent application titled, “Chimeric nucleic acid molecules with non-AUG initiation sequences and uses thereof.”

The patent expands upon the company’s intellectual property for its proprietary PolyStart antigen expression technology, which elevates the expression of T-cell antigenic epitopes for use in next-generation vaccines for cancer or infectious diseases. The patent claims cover the use of PolyStart to express Class I and II antigenic peptides of HER2, an important cell surface protein that is overexpressed in more than 20 per cent of all breast cancer patients.

The term of this patent extends to March 17, 2035 and its inventor is Dr. Robert Z. Florkiewicz, Head of Research at TapImmune.

“This patent significantly enhances our IP position for our PolyStart platform, further positioning TapImmune as a leader in the development of next-generation vaccines for cancer,” said Dr. Glynn Wilson, Chairman and CEO of TapImmune. “The allowed claims cover enhanced expression of class I and class II HER2 antigens, enabling us to create future vaccines that should elicit robust and long-lasting T-cell immune responses against HER2/neu+ cancers with enhanced potency. While we focus on advancing our multiple Phase 2 clinical programs in ovarian and breast cancer, we expect to continue developing PolyStart to be used synergistically with our peptide-based vaccines as well as potentially monetized through licensing or partnership with other vaccine developers in oncology and infectious disease applications.”

PolyStart can easily be adapted to various therapy compositions, meaning it can elevate the expression of selected epitopes via nearly any DNA-based (e.g., plasmid or minigene), RNA, or viral (replicating or non-replicating) delivery system. The PolyStart-expressed antigens are naturally processed and presented in greater abundance by antigen-presenting cells in the body, potentially generating a more potent and robust immune response against the target cells, be they tumor cells or infectious microbes.

PolyStart is a unique antigen expression system that ‘elevates’ the expression, and consequently the processing and presentation of desired antigenic peptide(s) for the stimulation of T-killer and/or T-helper cells to recognize and kill target cells. This novel vaccine technology platform creates a four-fold or greater increase in presentation of any antigen, giving it unlimited application in oncology and infectious diseases. This allows TapImmune to not only leverage the technology for its own vaccine candidates, but also generates additional value for the platform via licensing to third parties.

TapImmune Inc. is an immuno-oncology company specializing in the development of innovative technologies for the treatment of cancer, including metastasis, and infectious disease.