Tengion receives U.S. patent allowance titled ‘Isolated Renal Cells and Uses Thereof’

Tengion, Inc. (OTCQB: TNGN), a leader in regenerative medicine, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a Notice of Allowance for U.S. Patent Application No. 12/617,721, titled "Isolated Renal Cells and Uses Thereof."  The application includes claims intended to protect important aspects of Tengion's renal regenerative product candidate, the Neo-Kidney Augment™, for the treatment of advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD).

"This Notice of Allowance is based on the novel ability of our regenerative renal cells to regenerate functional kidney tissue in chronically diseased kidneys," said John Miclot, Tengion's President and Chief Executive Officer. "Tengion's goal is to protect the commercial potential of the Neo-Kidney Augment beyond 2030 through patent protection, know-how, regulatory exclusivity and trade secrets and by taking advantage of manufacturing barriers to entry. The issuance of this Notice of Allowance, along with other recent patent prosecution progress with the USPTO and in other parts of the world, confirms the breadth and strength of our intellectual property for the Neo-Kidney Augment and underlying technologies."

Once issued, this patent will provide Tengion broad protection for not only a selected population of regenerative renal cells capable of regenerating functional kidney tissue mass in chronically diseased kidneys but also various formulations of this selected cell population allowing for the optimization of product formulations and delivery in the clinical setting.

"A strategic theme for Tengion's R&D effort is to acquire and develop intellectual property for safe and effective cell-based therapies, and this latest Notice of Allowance represents an important component of our expanding IP portfolio," Mr. Miclot continued. "We believe that these therapies have the potential to address significant unmet medical needs facing the healthcare system."