Osprey Pharmaceuticals issued 3 U.S. patents

Osprey Pharmaceuticals Limited has announced that it has been granted three patents by the U.S. Patent Office.

The patents protect the use of conjugated chemokines to selectively and systematically eliminate overactive leukocytes implicated in most chronic diseases, the core technology behind Osprey's Leukocyte Population Modulator (LPM) platform.

"These patents confirm our unique position to commercialize the only therapeutic approach capable of addressing the in-common biological hallmark of many known diseases: over-expression of chemokines and chemokine receptors by overabundant and overactive leukocytes," said John McDonald, PhD, co- founder of Osprey Pharmaceuticals. "The timing of the patent issuance comes at an important stage of the company's development, as we move our first LPM for the treatment of chronic kidney disease into the clinic later this year."

The 99 collective claims covered by these patents mirror those issued in Europe and protect broad methods of treatment and compositions of matter. The specific patents issued are:

• US Patent 7,157,418 entitled "Methods and Compositions for Treating Secondary Tissue Damage and Other Inflammatory Conditions and Disorders"
• US Patent 7,166,702 entitled "Cytotoxic Conjugates Comprising a Chemokine Receptor Targeting Agent"
• US Patent 7,192,736 entitled "Nucleic Acid Molecules Encoding Cytotoxic Conjugates That Contain a Chemokine Receptor Targeting Agent"

Osprey's LPMs are chemokine-leukocyte network targeting agents that have multiple applications in acute and chronic diseases. The company's initial 12 preclinical candidates target those diseases that are fueled by a failed or failing chemokine-leukocyte network including chronic kidney disease, multiple sclerosis, many forms of cancer, asthma, and atherosclerosis. Unlike chemokine antagonists, which simply block chemokine receptors, Osprey's LPMs address the root cause of disease by infiltrating the chemokine system and removing the leukocytes propagating the disease.