ARMAGEN® Expands Patent Portfolio With Issuance Of Two Additional U.S. Patents

CALABASAS, Calif., Sept. 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- ARMAGEN, a leader in the field of transporting therapeutics across the blood brain barrier (BBB) today announced the issuance of two additional patents by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).  Based on the work of Dr. William Pardridge, these new patents reinforce ARMAGEN's already dominant intellectual property position for the Company's novel platform for delivery of therapeutics across the BBB into the central nervous system (CNS) utilizing endogenous receptor-mediated transporters. 

"Methods for Diagnosing and Treating CNS Disorders by Trans-Blood-Brain Barrier Delivery of Protein Compositions" provides broad method claims to the tetravalent bispecific antibody platform for treating CNS diseases and complements an already issued patent that covers the composition claims of the same platform.  Brain disorders that could potentially benefit from incorporating ARMAGEN's proprietary approach into therapeutics include Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's, bovine spongiform encephalopathy, West Nile virus encephalitis, Neuro-AIDS, brain injury, spinal cord injury, metastatic cancer of the brain, metastatic breast cancer of the brain, primary cancer of the brain and Multiple Sclerosis.

"Methods and Compositions for Increasing Arylsulfatase A (ASA) Activity in the CNS" covers methods related to systemic administration of a bifunctional fusion antibody comprising an antibody to an endogenous BBB receptor and an ASA.  This patent includes broad claims that cover ASA fused to any antibody that targets any BBB receptor.  Future products covered by the patent may, for the first time, treat the CNS symptoms of Metachromatic Leukodystrophy (MLD) patients with a non-invasive intravenous infusion of the antibody-ASA fusion protein. 

"Together, these newly issued patents further augment ARMAGEN's position as the leader in BBB delivery of biologic therapeutics to the brain using antibody-based molecular Trojan horses," said ARMAGEN founder and Chief Scientific Officer, William Pardridge, M.D.     

"As a pioneer in the growing receptor-mediated transcytosis field, ARMAGEN benefits tremendously from the intellectual property developed over the years by our founder Dr. Pardridge," stated James Callaway, Ph.D., CEO of ARMAGEN.  "Our strong and growing patent portfolio is an attractive asset to potential partners and represents a significant barrier to entry for potential competitors in the BBB space."

About ARMAGEN
Founded in 2004 by William M. Pardridge, M.D., ARMAGEN provides platform technology solutions to the blood-brain barrier problem and can non-invasively target recombinant proteins, therapeutic monoclonal antibodies, peptides, small molecules and siRNA to the brain.  Further information about ARMAGEN is available at http://www.armagen.com.

SOURCE ARMAGEN