Celladon Corporation Receives Notice of Allowance from European Patent Office

SAN DIEGO, June 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Celladon Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery and development of innovative treatments for cardiovascular diseases, announced today that it has received a Notice of Allowance from the European Patent Office (EPO) for claims that cover MYDICAR, Celladon's first in class drug under clinical evaluation for advanced heart failure. The patent to be issued from this allowed patent application, titled "Extended antegrade epicardial coronary infusion of adeno-associated viral vectors for gene therapy" carries a patent term to at least 2027. A similar application has been filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

"This is an important addition to our existing patent portfolio. The allowance strengthens our ability to broadly protect our proprietary technology as we continue the clinical development of MYDICAR," said Krisztina Zsebo Ph.D., President and CEO of Celladon Corp. "We will continue to complement our existing patent portfolio to further fortify MYDICAR's market exclusivity position."

About MYDICAR®

MYDICAR® is a genetically targeted enzyme replacement therapy intended to restore levels of SERCA2a, a regulator of calcium cycling and contractility. SERCA2a levels decline in all forms of late-stage heart failure resulting in deficient heart function. With MYDICAR®, the SERCA2a gene is delivered using a recombinant adeno-associated virus (AAV) as the vector. AAV is a naturally occurring virus not associated with any disease in humans. MYDICAR® is delivered in a single dose directly to the heart during a routine outpatient cardiac catheterization procedure, similar to an angiogram. MYDICAR®  is synergistic and additive across current heart failure treatments such as ACE inhibitors, beta-blockers, sprinolactone/diuretics, and biventricular pacing devices. No treatment substitution decision is required by the treating physician.

About Heart Failure

Chronic heart failure is a leading cause of hospitalization and is expected to result in direct and indirect costs of $39.2 billion to the U.S. healthcare system in 2010. Nearly 6 million people in the U.S. have heart failure, and at least 670,000 new cases will be diagnosed this year. Heart failure leads to about 280,000 deaths annually. The most common symptoms of heart failure are shortness of breath, feeling tired and swelling in the ankles, feet, legs and sometimes the abdomen. There is no cure.

SOURCE Celladon Corporation