In morning trade the Immutep Ltd (ASX: IMM) share price is storming higher following the release of an announcement.
At the time of writing, the biotechnology company's shares are up 9% to 42.5 cents.
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What did Immutep announce?
This morning the developer of novel immunotherapy treatments for cancer and autoimmune disease announced that it has received a patent entitled "Combined Preparations for the Treatment of Cancer or Infection" by the United States Patent & Trade Mark Office.
According to the release, this US patent follows the grant of the corresponding European patent announced in November 2018.
The claims of the patent protect Immutep's intellectual property relating to combined preparations comprising its lead active immunotherapy candidate eftilagimod alpha (efti) and a PD-1 pathway inhibitor.
Management advised that the expiry date of the patent is 8 January 2036.
Why is this significant?
The company believes this new patent is particularly significant as it covers the combination of active ingredients evaluated in the company's phase II TACTI-002 and phase I TACTI-mel trials.
Management also believes it further highlights the ongoing and important steps being taken by the company to protect its lead product candidate in a range of novel and commercially relevant combination formats, in both immuno-oncology (IO) and chemo-IO settings.
Immutep's CEO, Marc Voigt, commented: "We are very pleased that this United States patent has been granted covering our lead product candidate, efti, in combination with key anti-PD-1 therapies. This is particularly so in view of the highly encouraging data we have seen from both our TACTI (Two Active Immunotherapies) trials which evaluate efti in combination with pembrolizumab. Furthermore, this new patent and our corresponding patents and patent applications in other key markets continue to underpin our ongoing investment in clinical development."
This sentiment was echoed by Immutep's Chief Scientific Officer and Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Frédéric Triebel.
He said: "This United States patent grant represents another important milestone for the Company, and along with the clinical data we have seen from our trials, supports our long held view that combining efti with an anti-PD-1 checkpoint inhibitor should result in a very meaningful therapeutic benefit to cancer patients."
