Anergis Obtains Core Technology Patent Protection in the US

The patent application claiming for priority was deposited in March 2003. The patent was aimed at broadly covering the Contiguous Overlapping Peptide (COP) technology. This method allows selecting COPs for any type of allergy related to a protein allergen, i.e. allows defining multiple new allergy vaccines for further development by Anergis.

“The prosecution of the case in the US encountered a high level of scrutiny from the US patent office, proportional to the breadth of the patent coverage obtained. This patent allowance clearly underlines the uniqueness of Anergis innovative technology.” said Christophe Reymond, Ph.D., CSO of Anergis.

“Allowance of this patent in the US is an important step in the development of Anergis. Several products are in our pipeline for development using our now patented method and we look forward to see these products being tested in our laboratory and in allergic patients” added Vincent Charlon, PhD, CEO of Anergis.

In addition to the method patent obtained today in the US, Anergis is depositing further specific composition-of-matter patents. A first such patent covering the product AllerT, Anergis’ lead-product, against birch pollen allergies has been deposited in 2009 and has recently been published. A second patent on a product against house dust mites’ allergy has been now granted in Australia.

About Anergis SA:
Anergis SA is a Swiss-based biopharmaceutical company specializing in the discovery and development of novel ultra-fast specific immunotherapy (also known as “SIT” or “desensitization”) products. Allergy is the most prevalent and the fastest growing chronic condition in the industrialized world with over 300 million people affected. Current SIT remains underused due to its long duration (3-5 years of treatment) and safety risks. Anergis’ objective is to provide ultra-fast SIT treatments to allergic patients, by developing safe products which can achieve induction of tolerance to the allergen in few injections only. Anergis possesses a unique know-how and the exclusive rights to the technology of Contiguous Overlapping Peptides (“COPs”) developed jointly by the University of Lausanne, Switzerland (UNIL), the Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) and the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV). The technology of COPs allows the identification and development of uniquely profiled proprietary products intended for ultra-fast and safe desensitization against the most common allergies. Because Anergis COPs are long peptides they present the advantage of being recognized and processed by the antigen presenting cells of the immune system using similar mechanisms as the original allergen. This feature, combined with the fact that the COPs reproduce –in separate molecules- the full amino acid sequence of the allergen, and that overlapping sequences guarantee that all linear epitopes are present, ensures the high immunogenicity of the COPs. In the past years, Anergis has studied proprietary COPs targeting bee venom and birch pollen allergies both in animals and in humans. These studies have confirmed the excellent safety (no immediate allergic reaction) and expected immunogenicity (production of specific antibodies and cytokines against the original allergen) of Anergis COPs. Anergis is currently seeking industrial and/or financial partners to accelerate the preclinical and clinical development of its proprietary project portfolio.

About AllerT:
AllerT is the lead-product of Anergis, currently in clinical development for the specific immunotherapy of patients with moderate to severe allergies to birch pollen. Birch pollen allergies are common in the northern hemisphere, affecting 90% of patients allergic to tree pollens. AllerT is composed of a set of three COPs derived from the major birch pollen allergen Bet v 1. AllerT has been tested in vitro, in animals and in an earlier clinical trial, all showing markedly reduced or absence of IgE-mediated immediate allergic responses. In a randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind study, Anergis reported good safety and tolerability, highly statistically significant immunological responses consistent with tolerance induction (in particular IgG4, IgE and interleukin-10 responses) and a trend towards improved quality of life during the pollen season. Eighteen months later, Anergis also demonstrated the presence of a long term immune memory following treatment with AllerT (see www.anergis.ch/media releases for former releases).

Contacts: Anergis SA Vincent Charlon, CEO Christophe Reymond, CSO info@anergis.ch