Defence Therapeutics Enhances Global Patent Protection on Key Technologies

Defence Therapeutics Inc., a Canadian biopharmaceutical company based in Vancouver, British Columbia, has announced the issuance of several new patents and allowances for its diverse portfolio of immune-oncology vaccines and drug delivery technologies.

The company's vaccine enhancer platform technology has been significantly expanded with the recent allowance of its US application no. 18/169,440 by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). This new allowance includes valuable composition-of-matter claims directed to Accum® or its variants, either as standalone agents for enhancing antigen presentation or in combination with any vaccine antigen. This complements Defence’s previously granted US patent no. 11,612,651, which covers methods for improving polypeptide antigen immunogenicity. This particular Patent Family broadly covers Defence's anticancer ARM™ vaccine platform. Recent pre-clinical studies using Defence's ARM-002™ vaccine have shown potent antitumor responses in melanoma, lymphoma, and pancreatic cancer models when combined with the anti-PD-1 immune-checkpoint inhibitor, paving the way for forthcoming Phase I clinical trials.

Additionally, Defence has secured a new patent in Australia for its ADC platform technology, based on the original Accum®'s ability to form potent antibody-drug conjugates that lead to targeted cellular accumulation of a payload. This patent, granted on February 1, 2024 (Australian patent no. 2017233725), not only protects the original Accum® but also its important variants, thereby enhancing the company's patent protection in this therapeutic space. This development marks a significant milestone in the advancement and commercialization of novel ADCs for cancer treatment and detection. Defence previously obtained patents in the United States (US 11,352,437), Japan (JP 7,126,956), and Israel (IL 261765).

Defence's vaccine platform technology, which involves the covalent conjugation of Accum® and its variants to specific antigens, now includes Canadian patent no. 3,201,103 granted on December 12, 2023, and Australian patent no. 2021402007 granted on March 14, 2024. Additionally, the counterpart Japanese application no. 2023-535891 has been recently allowed by the Japanese Patent Office, with the Japanese patent expected to be granted imminently. These patents include claims covering a method for improving polypeptide antigen immunogenicity by covalently conjugating any antigen to Accum® or its variants, and also include independent composition-of-matter claims for potential vaccine compositions.

Sebastien Plouffe, CEO and president of Defence, expressed his enthusiasm about these developments, stating, "We are thrilled to announce the issuance of these patents and allowances with broad claims covering our ADC and vaccine platforms. This underscores our relentless pursuit of innovation and our unwavering commitment to improving human health."

Defence is actively pursuing accelerated examination of the remaining applications in its vaccine platform Patent Families through the Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) program, based on the broad issued and allowed claims. The issuance of new patents in these families is expected soon.

Defence Therapeutics is a publicly-traded clinical-stage biotechnology company focused on engineering next-generation vaccines and antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) using its proprietary Accum® technology. This platform enables precision delivery of vaccine antigens or ADCs in their intact form to target cells, resulting in increased efficacy and potency against severe illnesses such as cancer and infectious diseases.