A new patent covering tumor suppression technologies, including the company's lead product candidate Oncoprex™, was recently awarded to The University of Texas System by the Japan Patent Office. Patent number 4813746 pertains to the discovery that chromosome 3p21.3 genes act as cancer suppressors. The family of tumor suppressors include TUSC2, also known as FUS1, the anti-cancer agent in Oncoprex therapy which is undergoing clinical evaluation for lung cancer patients in the U.S.
"Japan represents an important clinical population," stated Chief Operating and Financial Officer Greg Heinlein. "We intend to include Japanese collaborators in our development and commercialization plans and have begun to establish key relations within the region, including appointments of leading oncology experts to our Medical and Scientific Advisory Board."
Genprex controls a portfolio of biomedical technologies including targeted molecular therapeutics for cancer and other diseases. The novel technologies, including those licensed exclusively from The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, are protected by 15 issued patents and 9 pending applications in major market areas. These broadly applicable technologies have been the subject of more than 20 peer-reviewed scientific publications in the fields of cancer, genomics and molecular biology.
Three early-phase clinical studies show promising initial data for patients with lymphoma, gastric cancers