IMED issued European patent

The European Patent Office has issued LinkMed’s portfolio company IMED AB a patent titled, “Fas peptides and antibodies for modulating apoptosis”. The patent covers IMED’s core technology; the generation of human antibody molecules that binds the human Fas receptor. The issuance of the patent strengthens IMED’s intellectual property position further.

“The European patent strengthens our efforts in building an attractive and competitive project portfolio with strong patent protection,” said Lotta Ljungqvist, CEO of IMED AB. “The issued patent is an important milestone in our development program and we can now turn to commercializing our apoptosis modulators. I am convinced that the human antibodies that IMED has generated have the potential to fulfill large medical needs.”

The Fas/Fas Ligand mechanism regulates cell death, apoptosis, and has been demonstrated to be involved in many severe and widespread diseases, such as cancer, transplantation, HIV and Graft-versus-host-disease (GVHD). IMED AB is in the process of developing antibodies to this target for the treatment of immune disorders and diseases related to deregulation of cell death. The issued patent covers the method IMED utilizes to deregulate cell death through Fas. IMED has previously been issued a corresponding patent in the US.

Currently, IMED is developing three projects, of which two are in pre-clinical phase. The lead project utilizes the human monoclonal antibody to block apoptosis in GVHD. This project is being readied for advancement into clinical trials. GVHD is a life threatening complication of bone marrow or stem cell transplantation in which the new transplant, the graft, attacks the patient, the host, resulting in a systemic disease which affects primarily the skin, liver and gastrointestinal tract.

LinkMed owns 42.3 percent of IMED AB.



For additional information please contact:
Ingemar Lagerlöf, CEO LinkMed AB +46-8-508 939 93