Allegro Ophthalmics, LLC
Allegro Ophthalmics, LLC (Allegro), a biotechnology company focused on the development of therapies to treat vitreoretinal diseases, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued US Patent 9,018,352 covering the composition of matter of Allegro’s product candidate Luminate® (ALG-1001), as well as its methods of use in the treatment of various ophthalmic disorders, neovascular conditions and tumors. The patent, which is Allegro’s first in the United States, was issued April 28, 2015. Allegro has additional patents pending.
Currently in multiple Phase 2 studies in the United States for the treatment of vitreoretinal conditions, Luminate treats vitreoretinal diseases by targeting integrin receptors involved in cell signaling and regulation, and in the construction of new and aberrant blood vessels. By utilizing two mechanisms of action (anti-angiogenesis and vitreolysis), Luminate has been shown in clinical studies to effectively regress and inhibit new blood vessel formation, as well as reduce vascular leakage and accelerate liquefaction of the vitreous. Through these mechanisms of action, anti-integrin therapy reduces the burden of intravitreal injections from the current standard of every four to eight weeks to every three months or longer.
“This patent is significant in that it provides Luminate with long-term market exclusivity,” said Vicken Karageozian, M.D., Chief Technical Officer, Allegro Ophthalmics. “An important component of Allegro’s intellectual property portfolio, the issuance of this first U.S. patent validates the novel science of Luminate.”
Luminate is an investigational drug not approved by the FDA for commercial sale in the U.S. Allegro maintains commercial rights to Luminate in all territories outside of Japan, Korea and China.