SAN DIEGO, Aug. 4, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ciclofilin Pharmaceuticals Inc. ("Ciclofilin" or the "Company"), a privately held biotech, announced today that it has received a Notice of Allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for U.S. Patent Application Number 13/994,707 entitled, "Cyclosporine Analogue Molecules Modified at Amino Acid 1 and 3." This Intellectual Property expands the Company's portfolio of cyclosporine-based molecules for a variety of indications mediated through interaction with a family of host proteins called, "cyclophilins". The company's lead indication utilizes CPI-431-32 for the treatment of hepatitis B virus ("HBV").
"This patent helps to further protect our chemical modifications of cyclosporine-based molecules," states Dr. Robert Foster, the company's CEO. "Our group has been researching and advancing cyclosporine analogues for approximately 20 years and has experience bringing these molecules to late-stage clinical trials. The original cyclosporine A has been in use for more than 30 years, mostly as an immunosuppressant in the field of organ transplantation. Unlike cyclosporine, Ciclofilin's compounds are non-immunosuppressive and exert their pharmacological effects by targeting cyclophilins. CPI-431-32 is a highly potent cyclophilin inhibitor with low nanomolar potency. Our lead compound, CPI-431-32, has shown multiple antiviral effects against HBV and other viruses. Given our experience with these molecules and the existing body of cyclophilin knowledge, we are confident that our approach to the treatment of HBV is scientifically sound and positioned for success."
About Ciclofilin:
Ciclofilin is a privately held life sciences company based in San Diego, California, with R&D facilities in Edmonton, Canada.The company's lead drug candidate, CPI-431-32, is being developed as a treatment for chronic HBV infection. CPI-431-32 interferes with the ability of the HBV to infect cells, replicate, generate cccDNA, and cause disease primarily by preventing HBV interaction with host cell cyclophilins. CPI-431-32 also demonstrates anti-fibrotic activity in the liver, and may offer clinical benefits to patients in addition to anti-HBV activity.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements, including with respect to the potential of our lead drug CPI-431-32 for the treatment of HBV. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release are forward-looking statements, including statements regarding the significance of our preclinical results and potential applications of our compound for the treatment of HBV patients. Statements that are not historical facts are based on our management's current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about our business and the industry in which we operate and our management's beliefs and assumptions. The statements contained in this release are not guarantees of future performance and involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed in such forward-looking statements. These statements speak only as of the date of this release, and are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Ciclofilin undertakes no obligation to update or revise these statements, except as required by applicable law.