Immunomedics announces additional claim for RS7 antibodies patent family

Immunomedics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company primarily focused on the development of monoclonal antibody-based products for the targeted treatment of cancer, autoimmune and other serious diseases, today announced that additional claims for the patent family, "RS7 antibodies," were issued as Patent No. 1,002,443 in Korea. The new patent, which expires in March, 2023, covers compositions of humanized antibodies that target epithelial glycoprotein-1 (EGP-1 or TROP-2) for use in the treatment and diagnosis of cancer.  Comparable patents have also issued in the United States, Europe, Japan, Australia, China and Israel.

EGP-1, or TROP-2, has higher expression in prostate, lung, breast, ovarian, and cervical cancers as compared to normal tissues. The Company has developed the humanized monoclonal antibody, hRS7, for targeted therapy of multiple solid cancers.  hRS7 has also been shown to internalize into cancer cells, making it a suitable candidate for delivery of cytotoxic drugs. 

The Company has conjugated SN-38, the active metabolite of irinotecan used in chemotherapeutic regimens for colorectal, lung, and pancreatic cancers, to hRS7 for targeted treatment of cancer. Preclinical studies have indicated potent therapeutic effects of the antibody-drug conjugate in a human lung cancer model. (Please refer to the Company's press release at http://www.immunomedics.com/news_pdf/2008_PDF/PR03202008.pdf for more information). The development of hRS7-SN-38 conjugate has been supported in part by a grant from the Small Business Innovation Research Program of the National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health.

Additionally, by conjugating the RNA-degrading enzyme, RNase, to hRS7, the Company has demonstrated selective killing of cancers expressing the EGP-1 biomarker, including prostate and lung cancers.  (For more information, please refer to the Company's press release at http://www.immunomedics.com/news_pdf/2007_PDF/PR04172007.pdf).  

Commenting on the new patent award, Cynthia L. Sullivan, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "TROP-2 is a novel cancer target that we believe so far is only pursued by us. We are pleased to have received this new, 7^th patent, and look forward to developing this important new antibody for the therapy of multiple solid cancers."   "Results in preclinical models with various human cancers are being prepared for publication in a cancer journal," she added.