PATENT GRANTED TO ADVANCED LIFE SCIENCES
FOR NOVEL CLASS OF ANTI-CANCER COMPOUNDS
Woodridge, Ill. (September 3, 2003) - The U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a patent to Advanced Life
Sciences (ALS) for a novel class of indolocarbazole compounds.
The lead molecule of this class, ALS-423, has been shown to be
effective against a variety of human tumor cell lines. ALS-423
blocks a critical enzyme in cancer cells called topoisomerase
I.
The issued patent (US Patent 6,605,596) is the company’s
first of a series of applications for this class of molecules. “Receipt
of this patent is very important because it broadens and strengthens
our development portfolio of oncology drugs. ALS made the discoveries
that support this patent using its own technology platform. Thus,
we possess all aspects of its development and future licensing
potential,” said Michael T. Flavin, Ph.D., president and
chief executive officer of Advanced Life Sciences.
The USPTO granted ALS broad coverage including 42 claims on the
compounds composition of matter as well as their use as anti-cancer
agents. “We plan to move
quickly into the preclinical development phase and will use this technology
as a platform for partnering with a large pharmaceutical company.”
Indolocarbazoles represent a therapeutically important new class of anti-tumor
agents targeting topoisomerase I. Currently, only two anti-topoisomerase I
drugs, topotecan (Hycamtin) and irinotecan (Camptosar), have been FDA-approved
for clinical use and have combined annual sales of over $1 billion. These drugs
are from another class of compounds named camptothecins. Due to side affects
associated with these camptothecins, there is a need for second-generation
compounds such as indolocarbazoles, which may be safer and more selective anti-cancer
agents.
Advanced Life Sciences (www.advancedlifesciences.com) is a
privately held biopharmaceutical company engaged in the discovery,
development and commercialization of novel
drugs in the therapeutic areas of infection, cancer, and inflammation using
its platform in natural products and chemical proteomics coupled with expertise
in drug development.
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