XTL Biopharmaceuticals' Lupus Drug hCDR1 Granted Patent for Pharmaceutical Composition & Manufacturing Processes

XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ: XTLB, TASE: XTLB.TA) ("XTL" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing its lead product for the treatment of lupus, today announced that its lead drug candidate hCDR1 has been granted a patent by the Israel Patent Office. The patent, titled "Pharmaceutical Compositions Comprising a Peptide and a Substituted ß Cyclodextrin for use in Treating Systemic Lupus Erythematosus and Processes for their Manufacture," addresses the pharmaceutical composition of hCDR1 and its manufacturing processes. The compound hCDR1 and its formulations have been previously granted patents in numerous key jurisdictions including the U.S., Europe, Israel, Japan, China, India, Russia, Australia and Canada."As we head into our Phase 2 trial of hCDR1 in the U.S., Europe and Israel, we are pleased to see a fortification of our lead compound's intellectual property rights. Because systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an indication in dire need of an effective treatment, a drug that shows promise of efficacy is of high interest to large pharma partners, making the IP surrounding the technology very valuable," stated Josh Levine, Chief Executive Officer of XTL.XTL expects to initiate a Phase 2 trial of hCDR1 in the treatment of SLE in 2016.The market for SLE drugs was $900 million in 2012 and is expected to grow to $4 billion by 2022 in the U.S., France, Germany, Italy, Spain, UK, and Japan according to Decision Resources.