• Home
• About Lipoxen
• Our Technologies
• Pipeline
• Partnering
• Corporate Governance
• Investor Centre
• News
• Careers
• FAQ
• Contact us

Lipoxen reports further advancement of its DNA vaccine delivery patent portfolio

17 March 2008

US allows further patent for Lipoxen's ImuXen[R] technology

London, UK, 17th March 2008 - Lipoxen PLC, (AIM:LPX) a bio-pharmaceutical company specialising in the development of high value differentiated biologicals, vaccines and oncology drugs, announces today that an important ImuXen[R] patent (No 10/149670) has been allowed in the US, following grant in Europe in 2004. This extension of Lipoxen's DNA vaccine delivery patent estate covers its capisome technology, which relates to the entrapment of DNA vaccines into liposomes made of uncharged lipids rather than cationic (positively charged) liposomes.

In the capisome approach, DNA is complexed with calcium and then trapped into neutral liposomes. Recognising the need for a new delivery system as, although harmless if used over a few injections, cationic lipids can present problems on prolonged use, Lipoxen developed a technology that could be applied chronically, and is viewed as essential for a more widespread use for DNA therapy.

A further advantage of the capisome approach is that the delivery method is not limited to DNA vaccines, and it has the potential to be used in gene therapy and other nucleic acid-based therapies such as siRNA. Other benefits are expected to include low toxicity and capability to carry large amounts of DNA. The technology can also be applied in conjunction with Lipoxen's current ImuXen co-delivery approach, in which DNA vaccines and the proteins they encode are delivered together in order to provide an enhanced immune response.

The allowance of this patent comes shortly after one of Lipoxen's cornerstone ImuXen patents (No 10/617734), which covers the encapsulation of DNA inside a liposome, was allowed in the US. Both these approaches further protect Lipoxen's position in the field of DNA vaccine delivery technology and help ensure that its advanced ImuXen technology continues to be at the forefront of novel vaccine development.

M. Scott Maguire, CEO of Lipoxen, said:

"Realising that a strong intellectual property position is key to our future success, the allowance of this patent in the US further strengthens our position as a leader in the development of DNA delivery technology with ImuXen. The potential widespread use of the capisome technology beyond vaccines into delivery of other DNA-based medicines increases the value of our patent estate, and we expect it to play a key role in the generation of further deals and R&D collaborations."