• Additional US patents granted for Starpharma’s drug delivery platform
• China’s patent office allows patent
• Broad claims not limited by disease area, route of delivery, or delivered drug
• Coverage to 2029 in US, 2027 in China

Starpharma Holdings Ltd (ASX: SPL; OTCQX: SPHRY) today announced it has been granted three new patents by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) which strengthen and expand the Company’s patent estate for its drug delivery platform.

The patents provide “composition of matter” protection for Starpharma’s dendrimer technologies for drug delivery out to 2029 in the United States, which is the world’s largest pharmaceutical market for several important drug classes.

China’s patent office has also informed the Company that it has allowed a similarly broad, drug delivery-related patent for Starpharma in this important Asian market. This fourth patent, to expire in 2027, will be granted once an administrative process is complete.

“The granting of these patents adds to Starpharma’s considerable dendrimer intellectual property portfolio and expands the Company’s patents on drug delivery-related applications,” said Starpharma CEO Dr Jackie Fairley.

“They provide a firm footing for the commercialisation of our drug delivery technology, via our internal programs and work with partners including some of the largest global pharmaceutical companies.”

The patents offer broad and long-standing protection, and are in addition to other patent filings which encompass the Company’s leading delivery candidate - a dendrimer-enhanced version of the anti-cancer drug docetaxel (Taxotere^®).

Dr Fairley also noted the granting of these patents coincides with growing interest in nanomedicine by pharmaceutical companies, and a strong deal-making environment.

“In 2013 alone we have seen Pfizer, Amgen and Astellas Pharma each sign deals in the nanomedicine space with the aim of progressing pre-clinical drug candidates to market.

The value of those three deals total almost $700 Million in upfront and potential royalty payments, reflecting growing interest in this emerging and high-potential field of medicine.”   

This increased activity is supported by industry estimates of the market for nanomedicine-based oncology drugs growing from $5.5 Billion in 2011 to $12.7 Billion in 2016.

The new patents provide broad protection around the function of Starpharma’s dendrimers in drug delivery. Dendrimer formulations of existing drugs offer the ability to create proprietary products which have advantages such as improved drug efficacy, reduced toxicity, improved solubility, extended drug half-life and targeting of pharmaceuticals to specific cells or tissues.

The patents are not limited by disease area or route of delivery, and apply to dendrimer applications involving many classes of drugs such as small molecules, proteins, peptides and antibodies.

Download ASX Announcement: Starpharma Granted New Drug Delivery Patents ( pdf file, 150kb)