NeurogesX, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company, has received an additional notice of allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) related to the company's family of patents for NGX-1998, the company's next generation liquid formulation of prescription-strength capsaicin.

The allowed patent application expands on the company's patent entitled, "Methods and compositions for administration of TRPV1 agonists." The claims in the allowed application relate to methods of treating capsaicin-responsive conditions with a liquid formulation containing between 10% and 30% by weight of a TRPV1 agonist and certain penetration enhancer combinations. The capsaicin-responsive conditions referenced in the patent application include various types of pain, such as neuropathic pain and pain associated with skin cancer. The patent issuing from this application is expected to expire in 2024.

The claims addressed by the parent patent are generally directed to the liquid formulation itself and methods of topically applying the formulation.

Ronald Martell, president and CEO, commented, “Since shifting to focus on NGX-1998, we have been pleased to build up our patent protection for this valuable potential therapy. This most recent patent allowance helps to further solidify the protection for NGX-1998 in the US. We are continuing to advance NGX-1998 towards enabling a phase III trial by the end of 2012.”

NeurogesX, Inc. is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing a portfolio of novel non-opioid, pain management therapies to address unmet medical needs and improve patients' quality of life.