23
July 2024
Graft Polymer (UK)
plc
("Graft Polymer" or the
"Company")
Update on collaboration with
Awakn Life Sciences
Patent Authority evaluations
indicate promising path to U.S. patents being
granted
Further to the investment and
commercial collaboration with Awakn Life Sciences ("Awakn")
announced on 18 July 2024, the Company wishes to highlight the
details of an announcement made by Awakn after markets closed
yesterday in Canada.
Awakn's announcement relates to
Graft Polymer's interest in the aminoindane new chemical entity
("NCE") series (the "Aminoindane NCEs"), a novel treatment under
development targeting trauma related mental health disorders such
as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
PTSD, for example, is thought to
affect approximately 13[1] million adults in the USA and
20 million[2,3,4] in other key international markets. It
is a growing and largely unresolved healthcare
challenge.
The Aminoindane NCEs are small
molecule empathogens that promote the release of serotonin,
dopamine, and noradrenaline while blocking their
reuptake.
Patent status in key international markets
In May 2021 Awakn filed provisional
patent applications covering the Aminoindane NCEs, their
pharmaceutical compositions, and innovative treatment methods for
substance use and mental health disorders. These patent
applications are now progressing well across multiple
jurisdictions:
· The United
States: The fast-tracked U.S. patent
application, facilitated by the Patent Prosecution Highway ("PPH"),
is under examination. Positive evaluations from the International
Searching Authority ("ISA") indicate a promising path to a U.S.
patent being granted.
·
Europe: The European patent
application is pending, with substantive examination expected to
begin soon. European patent counsel is optimistic about securing a
granted patent, as claims were already deemed novel and
inventive by a European Patent Office ("EPO") examiner during the
international stage,
· Canada: The Canadian patent
application, pending examination, also holds strong prospects for a
granted patent. The examination process in Canada can be expedited
using the PPH, enhancing IP protection efficiency.
Prof. David Nutt, Awakn's Chief Scientific Officer, Awakn,
commented,
"The advancements in Awakn's patent portfolio point towards
the potential of our innovative Aminoindane NCEs. We are committed
to progressing these compounds through the development pipeline,
funded by Graft Polymer, to address the substantial unmet needs in
mental health and addiction treatment."
IP
protection progress to date
Following Awakn's patent
applications in May 2021, Awakn filed a Patent Cooperation Treaty
("PCT") application, claiming the benefit of priority to both
provisional applications in May 2022,
.
In August 2022, an EPO examiner,
issued a search report and written opinion, confirming the
pharmaceutical composition and method of use claims for all of
Awakn's lead compounds to be both novel and inventive.
The PCT application published as
WO2022/238507A1 in November 2022.
In November 2023, Awakn's PCT
application entered the national phase in the US and Canada, and in
December, the PCT application entered the European regional
phase.
Recently, in April 2024 a petition
to accept the U.S. patent application onto the PPH was granted
based on the novel and inventive claims deemed allowable in the PCT
written opinion, which the directors believe indicates a likely
U.S. patent grant.
Anthony Tennyson, CEO, commented,
"I'm delighted with Awakn's continual progress and commitment
to the deployment of our substantial investment and onward focus on
our mutual collaboration.
"We wish to maintain regular market updates as they
arise."
Enquiries:
Graft Polymer (UK) Plc
Anthony Tennyson, CEO and Executive Director
Email: anthonytennyson@graftpolymer.co.uk
Yifat Steuer, CFO and Executive Director
Email: yifat@graftpolymer.co.uk
Allenby Capital (Broker)
Nick Naylor
/ Liz Kirchner (Corporate Finance) | Guy McDougall
(Sales)
+44 (0) 20 3328
5656
About Graft Polymer (UK) Plc
Graft Polymer plc ("Graft Polymer")
(LSE:GPL) is an innovative biopolymer drug delivery systems
development company dedicated to enabling biopharmaceutical
companies to enhance the effectiveness of their therapeutics. Our
proprietary platform, a bioabsorbable self-nanoemulsifying drug
delivery system (SNEDDS), represents a cutting-edge solution in
drug delivery technology. By integrating active pharmaceutical
ingredients (APIs) into our novel, patented delivery systems, we
enable clients to improve the pharmacokinetics, bioavailability,
and stability of their therapeutics..
For more information, please visit
www.graftpolymer.co.uk.
About Awakn Life Sciences Corp.
Awakn Life Sciences Corp. is a
clinical-stage biotechnology company developing therapeutics
targeting substance use and mental health disorders. Awakn has a
near-term focus on Alcohol Use Disorder, a condition affecting
approximately 29 million adults in the US and approximately 40
million in the US and key European markets for which the current
standard of care is inadequate. Our goal is to provide breakthrough
therapeutics to addiction sufferers in desperate need and our
strategy is focused on commercialising our R&D pipeline across
multiple channels.
For more information, please visit
awaknlifesciences.com
Sources
1. US
VA National Center for PTSD. US Department of Veterans
Affairs.
2. UK
National Health Service (NHS), Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey:
Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing, England, 2014.
3.
Maercker, A., Forstmeier, S., Wagner, B. et al. Posttraumatische
Belastungsstörungen in Deutschland. Nervenarzt 79, 577-586
(2008).
4.
Nemeroff, Charles B., and others, 'Trauma and PTSD in
Europe', in Charles B. Nemeroff, and Charles Marmar
(eds), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (New
York, 2018; online edn, Oxford Academic, 1 Sept.
2018)