Lpath Says Wins Key European, US Patents Related to Asonep

Lpath, Inc.

, the industry leader in bioactive lipid-targeted therapeutics, received official notification from the European Patent Office (EPO) and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) that the company has been issued three key patents. The patents cover methods of detecting sphingolipid levels, as well as covering monoclonal antibodies, including ASONEP(TM) and iSONEP(TM), that bind to and neutralize sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P). S1P is a bioactive lipid that has been validated as a target in multiple disease states. The newly issued U.S. patent, No. 8,361,465, claims ASONEP and fragments of ASONEP for the treatment of cancer in combination with chemotherapeutic agents and optionally surgery or radiation therapy. European patent No. EP 1 812 797 claims anti-S1P antibodies for use in treating a wide range of hyperproliferative disorders, including cancer, tumor angiogenesis, age-related macular degeneration (AMD), cardiac failure, inflammation, and scarring. Claims are also granted in Europe for anti-S1P antibodies in combination with other treatments. A third patent, EP 2 027 142, was also granted in Europe. It has claims to reagents and methods useful in diagnostic tests for detecting and measuring certain sphingolipid levels in clinical tissue or bodily fluid samples. Many scientific publications have suggested that S1P is a tumorigenic and angiogenic bioactive lipid that cancer cells use to escape therapy. In collaboration with Dr. Rupal Bhatt of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Lpath has demonstrated that levels of S1P are upregulated in blood of patients with renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Moreover, Dr. Bhatt has demonstrated efficacy of Lpath's anti-S1P antibodies in treating mice with human RCC tumors.