Marinus Pharmaceuticals Issued Patent for Ganaxolone

NEW HAVEN, Conn., April 7, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Inc., the leader in development of neurosteroids for central nervous system disorders, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued the company Patent Number 7,858,609 entitled, "Solid ganaxolone formulations and methods for the making and use thereof." The patent describes a novel class of small molecules to improve stability and bioavailability of nanoparticulate formulations of ganaxolone and will provide coverage until the end of 2026.

“Neurosteroids like ganaxolone have been difficult to formulate in the past because of differences in exposure that are dependent on the dose and amount of food in the stomach,” commented Kenneth Shaw, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, R&D at Marinus. “Marinus’ discovery of a novel class of stabilizing agents has produced new nanoparticulate formulations of ganaxolone that appear to be superior to historical formulations in minimizing these differences.”

The company has submitted a second patent application covering a new synthesis method for ganaxolone that decreases the number of process steps thus increasing cost efficiency.

About Ganaxolone

Ganaxolone is a synthetic neurosteroid and a derivative of the naturally occurring neuromodulator, allopregnanolone.  Ganaxolone has been administered to more than 950 healthy adult volunteers and patients in Phase 1 and Phase 2 studies. Completed Phase II epilepsy studies have generated data supportive of the efficacy and safety of ganaxolone in the treatment of both children and adults suffering from refractory epilepsy (patients who continue to have seizures despite taking multiple anticonvulsant drugs). Scientific research has suggested that ganaxolone therapy may be useful in the treatment of several other central nervous system disorders including posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and Fragile-X syndrome (FXS). Ganaxolone is being developed as a first in class treatment in epilepsy, PTSD and FXS.

Marinus has successfully developed several proprietary and novel patented formulations of ganaxolone.

About Marinus Pharmaceuticals

Marinus is a specialty pharmaceutical company dedicated to the reformulation, development, and commercialization of novel drugs to treat serious neurological and psychiatric disorders. Marinus is located in Branford, Connecticut. Its investors include Domain Associates, Canaan Partners, Sofinnova Ventures and Foundation Medical Partners. For additional information, please visit the company’s Web site at www.marinuspharma.com.

SOURCE Marinus Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

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