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GERN is 30x the size of MAIA. Wouldn't be a merger, would be an acquisition.
Does this relate to the ruling for a hearing in the NWBO case today?
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Qq_k6o1OcevldjNG-OYt9gVYT136EIYY/view?usp=drivesdk
You're most welcome. I don't have all of the answers here but I'll give two examples of what I see.
For the first abandoned one in the list (date of 7-8-22), the activity that I'm seeing in Patent Center says that the patent application received a non-final rejection on 12-3-21. Usually when a non-final rejection is received, the applicant has six months to appeal the decision and request continued review (after revising their submittal to address the issues raised in the rejection). The next entry in the file basically just says that the company failed to submit a timely reply in response to the non-final rejection, so it's considered abandoned.
Patent Center link (click on documents and transactions on the left to view all of the back and forth correspondence): https://patentcenter.uspto.gov/applications/15610321
Another example:
On the one that says Expired (non-payment), the last status update in Patent Center says "Patent Expired Due to NonPayment of Maintenance Fees Under 37 CFR 1.362 05/01/2017"
Patent Center link: https://patentcenter.uspto.gov/applications/12367308
I would like to assume that this isn't just pure negligence in both of these example cases. Perhaps the company decided that it wasn't worth the resources (expensive patent attorney fees) to continue fighting the one that kept getting rejected. Maybe they decided that the one that expired wasn't going to yield any meaningful business impacts going forward. Impossible to know for sure.
Here's a copy/paste of my NWBO patent cheat sheet that I try to keep up to date with the latest patent office actions. Status first, then any recent actions and date of the action, USPTO file number that can be used to look up the record in Patent Center, and the name. Please correct me if I've left any out. Most exciting recent action of late is the notice of allowance recently received for the second one in the list.
IN PROGRESS (non-final rejection 9-7-23) 20220145246 OPTIMALLY ACTIVATED DENDRITIC CELLS THAT INDUCE AN IMPROVED OR INCREASED ANTI-TUMOR IMMUNE RESPONSE
IN PROGRESS (notice of allowance received 7-20-23) 20210102169 GENERATION OF DENDRITIC CELLS FROM MONOCYTIC DENDRITIC PRECURSOR CELLS WITH GM-CSF IN THE ABSENCE OF ADDITIONAL CYTOKINES
IN PROGRESS (request for continued examination 7-3-23) 20190046568 METHODS RELATING TO ACTIVATED DENDRITIC CELL COMPOSITIONS AND IMMUNOTHERAPEUTIC TREATMENTS FOR SUBJECTS WITH ADVANCED CANCERS
PATENTED 20180187145 OPTIMALLY ACTIVATED DENDRITIC CELLS THAT INDUCE AN IMPROVED OR INCREASED ANTI-TUMOR IMMUNE RESPONSE
ABANDONED (7-8-22) 20170363625 QUALITY ASSAYS FOR ANTIGEN PRESENTING CELLS
PATENTED 20160024472 Generation of Dendritic Cells from Monocytic Dendritic Precursor Cells with GM-CSF in the Absence of Additional Cytokines
IN PROGRESS (notice of appeal filed 8-23-23) 20150273033 COMBINATIONS OF CHECKPOINT INHIBITORS AND THERAPEUTICS TO TREAT CANCER
IN PROGRESS (notice of appeal filed 3-20-23) 20150202291 COMBINATIONS OF CHECKPOINT INHIBITORS AND THERAPEUTICS TO TREAT CANCER
PATENTED 20140072564 THERAPEUTIC AND DIAGNOSTIC APPLICATIONS BASED ON THE ROLE OF THE CXCR-4 GENE IN TUMORIGENESIS
PATENTED 20130273654 Generation of Dendritic Cells from Monocytic Dendritic Precursor Cells with GM-CSF in the Absence of Additional Cytokines
ABANDONED 20130017600 ISOLATION AND/OR PRESERVATION OF DENDRITIC CELLS FOR PROSTATE CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY
ABANDONED (7/6/17, non-timely payment) 20120252034 QUALITY ASSAYS FOR ANTIGEN PRESENTING CELLS
IN PROGRESS (final rejection 8-24-23) 20120251561 ADMINISTRATION OF DENDRITIC CELLS PARTIALLY MATURED IN VITRO FOR THE TREATMENT OF TUMORS
IN PROGRESS (non-final rejection 9-6-23) 20120244620 COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS FOR INDUCING THE ACTIVATION OF IMMATURE MONOCYTIC DENDRITIC CELLS
PATENTED 20110189150 TANGENTIAL FLOW FILTRATION DEVICES AND METHODS FOR LEUKOCYTE ENRICHMENT
EXPIRED (non-payment 4-28-17) 20100062003 THERAPEUTIC AND DIAGNOSTIC APPLICATIONS BASED ON THE ROLE OF THE CXCR-4 GENE IN TUMORIGENESIS
ABANDONED 20100008892 QUALITY ASSAYS FOR ANTIGEN PRESENTING CELLS
ABANDONED 20080254537 Compositions and Methods for Inducing the Activation of Immature Monocytic Dendritic Cells
ABANDONED (12-13-22) 20080254064 COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS FOR PRIMING MONOCYTIC DENDRITIC CELLS AND T CELLS FOR TH-1 RESPONSE
ABANDONED (9/21/17) 20080171023 METHOD TO INCREASE CLASS I PRESENTATION OF EXOGENOUS ANTIGENS BY HUMAN DENDRITIC CELLS
PATENTED 20070004655 NR-CAM GENE, NUCLEIC ACIDS AND NUCLEIC ACID PRODUCTS FOR THERAPEUTIC AND DIAGNOSTIC USES FOR TUMORS
ABANDONED 20060234309 Quality assays for antigen presenting cells
ABANDONED 20060234286 HUMAN PARIS-1 ANTIGEN AND NUCLEIC ACIDS: DIAGNOSTIC AND THERAPEUTIC USES
ABANDONED 20060057120 Administration of dendritic cells partially matured in vitro for the treatment of tumors
ABANDONED 20050202019 Therapeutic and diagnostic applications based on the role of the CXCR-4 gene in tumorigenesis
ABANDONED 20050059151 Compositions and methods for priming monocytic dendritic cells and t cells for th-1response
PATENTED 20050189297 Tangential flow filtration devices and methods for stem cell enrichment
PATENTED 20050173315 Tangential flow filtration devices and methods for leukocyte enrichment
PATENTED 20040203143 Generation of dendritic cells from monocytic dendritic precursor cells with GM-CSF in the absence of additional cytokines
PATENTED 20040197903 Method for induction of proliferation of natural killer cells by dendritic cells cultured with GM-CSF and IL-15
EXPIRED (non-payment 5-13-19) 20040024188 Monoclonal antibodies specific for the extracellular domain of prostate-specific membrane antigen
Some recent filings related to the securities litigation... including interesting back and forth regarding a request for extension on behalf of the defendants. Looks like the judge ultimately compromised and granted an extension to mid-March, vs. early April.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IGskXEoK4eh3M9DCIziCx9sAHaqO47dw/view?usp=share_link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1n_m7-pmk-naZ7tuWNJ5NgFNNw-tLnFVP/view?usp=share_link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1v2jv49fnKI3XOERFesYHkTP7QuzOTXtj/view?usp=share_link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MI18QzaQ5jE6SVxe6gWYmKy5FNIR4aJo/view?usp=share_link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZDRXDCOLnPwAaHpetHY6c_ihZD5uPXAl/view?usp=share_link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1P3izIf2qgxj2vtvEIZZaIfyviREoXJzt/view?usp=share_link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1zmSQjMK1X72V-0Bwus5MR0wp5X_aL7S7/view?usp=share_link
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xCl-E7mIm5DzwoAVRDA2gh8DeXiOz1JY/view?usp=share_link
Yeah, you'd have to be an idiot to rack up thousands of dollars of PACER charges. I have an account and have found that the system includes a lot of failsafes almost to the point of being annoying. Each search with results is 10 cents per page (even if the results go on for thousands of pages, you're only viewing and paying for 10 cents at a time). Then, downloading any actual court docs is preceded by a pop-up box saying "this doc is xyz pages and will cost you xyz at 10 cents per page."
Also worth mentioning, for non-commercial users there is a grace allowance of $45 per quarter. I've only exceeded that once and even then had to pay an extra 20 bucks or so.
Did anyone else see that we got mentioned in a Nature article last week? Wondering if that is contributing to the SP bump.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s43018-022-00418-6
Hi Basin, please include me on the invite...Thanks!
New patent application (filed last September) just became public yesterday. Still digesting...
https://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.html&r=1&p=1&f=G&l=50&d=PG01&S1=(Northwest.AS.+AND+biotherapeutics.AS.)&OS=An/Northwest+and+an/biotherapeutics&RS=(AN/Northwest+AND+AN/biotherapeutics)
Whole lotta "stuff" going on with this guy from 2015-2020. One could argue that he is under the microscope now and as such, much less likely to pull anything shady.
https://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2020/lr24886.htm
I posted this a few days ago... here's the text from the article that discusses DCVax specifically:
Because DCs can mount an immune response to a series of known antigens, DCs exposed to unknown antigens through autologous tumor lysates could also generate systemic immune responses against a variety of tumor cells, with a possible benefit to overall survival. DCs pulsed with autologous human tumor lysate that is, either acid-eluted or freeze-thawed (DCVax-L) provide a patient specific vaccine based on a patient’s resected tumor and covers a wide array of epitopes. In a phase I trial, 12 patients (5 recurrent and 7 newly diagnosed patients) treated with DCVax-L showed an improved median progression-free survival (median progression-free survival of 19.9 months vs 8.2 months) and overall survival (median overall survival of 35.8 months vs 18.3 months) compared with historic controls with 50% survival at 2 years and 2 patients still alive at the time of publication (>58.0 and >48.4 months).69 These patients are still alive today, over 16 years since the conclusion of this initial Phase I trial. Six of the 12 patients developed a systemic cytotoxic T-lymphocyte response on invitro lysis assays, 4 of the 8 patients had tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes on re resection, and 1 patient showed objective MRI changes after injection. This phase I trial showed safety, bioactivity, and feasibility, and led to a randomized, multi-institute, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase III clinical trial (NCT00045968) of DCVax-L. The phase III trial compared chemoradiation (n 5 99) with DCVax-L plus chemoradiation (n 5 232) for patients newly diagnosed with glioblastoma in a 2:1 randomization, with crossover upon progression. Because datalock was just recently completed at the time of this writing, the data remain blinded for this trial. However, a recent interim update showed that the overall survival seems to be favorable (intention-to-treat median overall survival of 23.1 months; 2-year survival rate of 46.2%; 3-year survival rate of 25.4%) and continues to be well-tolerated with low levels of adverse events. Also, as expected, the overall survival correlated with the extent of the resection. In contrast, DC lysate In order to further enhance the efficacy of DCVax-L, a phase II randomized trial for recurrent glioma patients treated in combination with with DCVax-L in combination with with programmed death 1 blockade (NCT03014804) is underway.
And the article summary:
Glioblastoma treatments are in dire need of additional therapeutic options. Peptide and DC vaccines have demonstrated safety as potential treatments for brain tumors. A few treatments including SurVaxM and DCVax-L show early promising results with data from DCVax-L pending evaluation of phase III data. Cancer vaccines activate robust antitumor responses through immunostimulation against cancer antigens or transfusion of DCs stimulated ex vivo against tumor antigens to initiate adaptive immunity. Importantly, vaccines have shown the ability to induce antitumor T-cell trafficking and antibody production across the blood–brain barrier. GAPVAC-101 and DCVax-L also have the benefit of activating an immune response against multiple cancer antigens, and DCVax-L in particular can target unknown antigens by pulsing the cells with autologous tumor lysate, thereby potentially overcoming the problem of tumor heterogeneity. Recent results have demonstrated the potential for cancer vaccines to become an important therapeutic option in addition to chemotherapy. surgery, radiation, and Although tumor vaccines have shown potential, there are still many opportunities to improve their cancer fighting capabilities. Activated T cells that migrate to the tumor face a harshly immunosuppressive environment and previous studies have demonstrated that vaccine stimulated T cells exhibit many of the classic exhaustion markers once they engage with the cancer. To overcome these challenges, combination therapies incorporating both tumor vaccines and checkpoint inhibitors or immunostimulants are currently underway. Furthermore, vaccines targeting single antigens create selection pressure for tumor cells expressing the antigen at lower levels, which leads to therapeutic resistance. Vaccines targeting a broader cancer antigen landscape have been developed, but their efficacy must be validated and reproduced in larger studies. There have also been great strides made in using patient-specific tumor transcriptome or proteome data to develop personalize vaccines. This strategy can identify personalized neoantigens to combat the heterogenous glioblastoma tumor population, but the efficacy of targeting predicted neoantigens in glioblastoma is only theoretical and further research is needed to determine their effectiveness.
Pertinent text from new LL article (pre-pub) regarding DCVax:
Because DCs can mount an immune response to a series of known antigens, DCs exposed to unknown antigens through autologous tumor lysates could also generate systemic immune responses against a variety of tumor cells, with a possible benefit to overall survival. DCs pulsed with autologous human tumor lysate that is, either acid-eluted or freeze-thawed (DCVax-L) provide a patient specific vaccine based on a patient’s resected tumor and covers a wide array of epitopes. In a phase I trial, 12 patients (5 recurrent and 7 newly diagnosed patients) treated with DCVax-L showed an improved median progression-free survival (median progression-free survival of 19.9 months vs 8.2 months) and overall survival (median overall survival of 35.8 months vs 18.3 months) compared with historic controls with 50% survival at 2 years and 2 patients still alive at the time of publication (>58.0 and >48.4 months).69 These patients are still alive today, over 16 years since the conclusion of this initial Phase I trial. Six of the 12 patients developed a systemic cytotoxic T-lymphocyte response on invitro lysis assays, 4 of the 8 patients had tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes on re resection, and 1 patient showed objective MRI changes after injection. This phase I trial showed safety, bioactivity, and feasibility, and led to a randomized, multi-institute, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase III clinical trial (NCT00045968) of DCVax-L. The phase III trial compared chemoradiation (n 5 99) with DCVax-L plus chemoradiation (n 5 232) for patients newly diagnosed with glioblastoma in a 2:1 randomization, with crossover upon progression. Because datalock was just recently completed at the time of this writing, the data remain blinded for this trial. However, a recent interim update showed that the overall survival seems to be favorable (intention-to-treat median overall survival of 23.1 months; 2-year survival rate of 46.2%; 3-year survival rate of 25.4%) and continues to be well-tolerated with low levels of adverse events. Also, as expected, the overall survival correlated with the extent of the resection. In contrast, DC lysate In order to further enhance the efficacy of DCVax-L, a phase II randomized trial for recurrent glioma patients treated in combination with with DCVax-L in combination with with programmed death 1 blockade (NCT03014804) is underway.
The rejection notice just showed up:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HDog1EuMPlSZdAeyDs3I37KK6OhYrMCn/view?usp=drivesdk
They appear to have been awarded one back in May of this year:
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.htm&r=1&p=1&f=G&l=50&d=PTXT&S1=flaskworks.ASNM.&OS=An/flaskworks&RS=AN/flaskworks
Here are the 14 patents currently showing as assigned to Northwest Bio by the USPTO, with dates of when they were awarded. Patents are typically valid for 20 years, so you can do the math and see which ones have already expired, and which ones will be expiring next.
Patent # Title Date
10731130 Generation of dendritic cells from monocytic dendritic precursor cells with GM-CSF in the absence of additional cytokines 08/04/20
9566294 Therapeutic and diagnostic applications based on the role of the CXCR-4 gene in tumorigenesis 02/14/17
9102917 Generation of dendritic cells from monocytic dendritic precursor cells with GM-CSF in the absence of additional cytokines 08/11/15
8518636 Tangential flow filtration devices and methods for leukocyte enrichment 08/27/13
8409566 Therapeutic and diagnostic applications based on the role of the CXCR-4 gene in tumorigenesis 04/02/13
8389278 Generation of dendritic cells from monocytic dendritic precursor cells with GM-CSF in the absence of additional cytokines 03/05/13
7790039 Tangential flow filtration devices and methods for stem cell enrichment 09/07/10
7695627 Tangential flow filtration devices and methods for leukocyte enrichment 04/13/10
7087715 Human paris-1 antigen and nucleic acids: diagnostic and therapeutic uses 08/08/06
6936448 Nucleic acids and proteins of a rat ganglioside GM1-specific .alpha.1-2fucosyltransferase and uses thereof 08/30/05
6863887 Therapeutic and diagnostic applications based on the role of the CXCR-4 gene in tumorigenesis 03/08/05
6150508 Monoclonal antibodies specific for the extracellular domain of prostate-specific membrane antigen 11/21/00
5990294 Nucleotide and amino acid sequences of C4-2, a tumor suppressor gene, and methods of use thereof 11/23/99
5874290 Nucleotide and amino acid sequences of a D2-2 gene associated with brain tumors and methods based thereon 11/23/99
Everything I'm seeing just points to routine communication between NWBO (via their attorney) and the USPTO. I'm sure the rejection memo will get posted on Public PAIR within the next day or two, and we'll be able to see exactly what the issue is. I've been following the NWBO patent situation for many years now. 90% or more of these rejections and volleying back and forth usually start with the USPTO examiner either stating their belief that someone else already patented a nearly identical method (double patenting) or that the method would have been "prima facie" obvious to someone else skilled "in the art."
The company is pretty good about responding within the allocated time period, usually by adjusting their claims (removing portions or re-stating things a different way) and trying again. It's a long process... for example, this one in particular has been in play since early 2018.
No. It's showing a state of "final rejection" as of today. Still waiting for the actual memo from the USPTO to be posted, which will include their rationale.
Not sure. The actual decision memo isn't available yet. I'll post it on here when it pops up.
Final rejection showing up now. They can still challenge it... just have a shortened window to do so.
Thanks Flipper. A couple of more recent actions are showing up on Public PAIR (latest one is from just two days ago). Definitely looks like it's back in the examiner's hands to make the next decision regarding approval or rejection.
See here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LGuzyIy8brFJW6k8d1B0SX2kgq5Yx6-B/view?usp=sharing
What's the application number? I'll try to take a closer look at recent activity when I get a chance.
I think you're right. It popped up this evening via a Google Scholar alert I have set on a number of search terms (to include "DCVax"). The "preprint" watermark threw me off... but then I did notice that it said "abstract withdrawn" and was dated last month.
Has anyone seen this yet?
https://jitc.bmj.com/content/8/Suppl_3/A471.1
Regarding already awarded patents, there appear to be 13 total that are assigned to Northwest Bio, and ownership/rights to those should not be in question. The only concern with those is that the oldest 2 are now more than 20 years old, with others rapidly approaching the end of validity.
All the questions I raise are related to the applications which have not yet been granted as patents. At any given time, the company appears to be actively working (through their law firm, Christensen O'Connor Johnson Kindness) to push toward award of a few others which have been disputed back and forth for years. It is on many of these that the rejections seem to take on a common theme of Tjoa or someone else already cracking the nut, nothing to see here.
The company is spending a lot of money in legal fees surrounding the ongoing activity with these patents. They obviously see value there. I don't believe it has anything to do directly with the release of results from the trial or other related activities, but it's always been of interest to me, since the filings seem to expose a glimpse of strategy or focus that the company is otherwise mum on through other public channels.
For reference, here is a current list of awarded patents that NWBO is listed as the assignee on, no questions asked:
PAT. NO. Title
1 9,566,294 Therapeutic and diagnostic applications based on the role of the CXCR-4 gene in tumorigenesis
2 9,102,917 Generation of dendritic cells from monocytic dendritic precursor cells with GM-CSF in the absence of additional cytokines
3 8,518,636 Tangential flow filtration devices and methods for leukocyte enrichment
4 8,409,566 Therapeutic and diagnostic applications based on the role of the CXCR-4 gene in tumorigenesis
5 8,389,278 Generation of dendritic cells from monocytic dendritic precursor cells with GM-CSF in the absence of additional cytokines
6 7,790,039 Tangential flow filtration devices and methods for stem cell enrichment
7 7,695,627 Tangential flow filtration devices and methods for leukocyte enrichment
8 7,087,715 Human paris-1 antigen and nucleic acids: diagnostic and therapeutic uses
9 6,936,448 Nucleic acids and proteins of a rat ganglioside GM1-specific .alpha.1-2fucosyltransferase and uses thereof
10 6,863,887 Therapeutic and diagnostic applications based on the role of the CXCR-4 gene in tumorigenesis
11 6,150,508 Monoclonal antibodies specific for the extracellular domain of prostate-specific membrane antigen
12 5,990,294 Nucleotide and amino acid sequences of C4-2, a tumor suppressor gene, and methods of use thereof
13 5,874,290 Nucleotide and amino acid sequences of a D2-2 gene associated with brain tumors and methods based thereon
And here is a complete list of patent applications that the company has filed, some awarded, some abandoned, some being actively pursued, many in a seemingly endless state of rejection and update due to "Tjoa already did it" syndrome:
PUB. APP. NO. Title
1 20190046568 METHODS RELATING TO ACTIVATED DENDRITIC CELL COMPOSITIONS AND IMMUNOTHERAPEUTIC TREATMENTS FOR SUBJECTS WITH ADVANCED CANCERS
2 20180187145 OPTIMALLY ACTIVATED DENDRITIC CELLS THAT INDUCE AN IMPROVED OR INCREASED ANTI-TUMOR IMMUNE RESPONSE
3 20170363625 QUALITY ASSAYS FOR ANTIGEN PRESENTING CELLS
4 20140072564 THERAPEUTIC AND DIAGNOSTIC APPLICATIONS BASED ON THE ROLE OF THE CXCR-4 GENE IN TUMORIGENESIS
5 20130273654 Generation of Dendritic Cells from Monocytic Dendritic Precursor Cells with GM-CSF in the Absence of Additional Cytokines
6 20130017600 ISOLATION AND/OR PRESERVATION OF DENDRITIC CELLS FOR PROSTATE CANCER IMMUNOTHERAPY
7 20120252034 QUALITY ASSAYS FOR ANTIGEN PRESENTING CELLS
8 20120251561 ADMINISTRATION OF DENDRITIC CELLS PARTIALLY MATURED IN VITRO FOR THE TREATMENT OF TUMORS
9 20120244620 COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS FOR INDUCING THE ACTIVATION OF IMMATURE MONOCYTIC DENDRITIC CELLS
10 20110189150 TANGENTIAL FLOW FILTRATION DEVICES AND METHODS FOR LEUKOCYTE ENRICHMENT
11 20100062003 THERAPEUTIC AND DIAGNOSTIC APPLICATIONS BASED ON THE ROLE OF THE CXCR-4 GENE IN TUMORIGENESIS
12 20100008892 QUALITY ASSAYS FOR ANTIGEN PRESENTING CELLS
13 20080254537 Compositions and Methods for Inducing the Activation of Immature Monocytic Dendritic Cells
14 20080254064 COMPOSITIONS AND METHODS FOR PRIMING MONOCYTIC DENDRITIC CELLS AND T CELLS FOR TH-1 RESPONSE
15 20080171023 METHOD TO INCREASE CLASS I PRESENTATION OF EXOGENOUS ANTIGENS BY HUMAN DENDRITIC CELLS
16 20060234309 Quality assays for antigen presenting cells
17 20060234286 HUMAN PARIS-1 ANTIGEN AND NUCLEIC ACIDS: DIAGNOSTIC AND THERAPEUTIC USES
18 20060057120 Administration of dendritic cells partially matured in vitro for the treatment of tumors
19 20050202019 Therapeutic and diagnostic applications based on the role of the CXCR-4 gene in tumorigenesis
20 20050189297 Tangential flow filtration devices and methods for stem cell enrichment
21 20050173315 Tangential flow filtration devices and methods for leukocyte enrichment
22 20040203143 Generation of dendritic cells from monocytic dendritic precursor cells with GM-CSF in the absence of additional cytokines
23 20040197903 Method for induction of proliferation of natural killer cells by dendritic cells cultured with GM-CSF and IL-15
24 20040024188 Monoclonal antibodies specific for the extracellular domain of prostate-specific membrane antigen
Thanks... I guess my question is really surrounding what his role and relationship was with the company when he was employed from 1995-2001.
Did he leave on good terms?
Does he have IP assigned to him personally that the company claims or is attempting to claim?
Etc...
Who is Benjamin Tjoa?
To me, as I follow every patent-related action that involves the company and DCVax, this question has become more and more important.
I've noticed a trend over the last several years... many of the patents that the company is actively pursuing with the USPTO seem to encounter roadblock after roadblock, with the response from the patent office often being a series of rejections. The reason given 9 times out of 10? Some variation of "Tjoa already did it, this isn't new and patentable material."
Most recent example, a non-final rejection issued to the company on December 19 (for the patent application - OPTIMALLY ACTIVATED DENDRITIC CELLS THAT INDUCE AN IMPROVED OR INCREASED ANTI-TUMOR IMMUNE RESPONSE).
Reason for rejection? You guessed it... Tjoa already did it.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1uIUUT09G4rug8LdrYKeWEgH1LgAdMdBj
Can someone who's been around here longer than me (more than 5-6 years) shed some light on Tjoa and why the company appears to be headbutting a brick wall here?
Yeah, I don't read too much into it, especially if they share employees back and forth (I assume they do). For what it's worth, the call came from 240-497-4060.
In the voicemail I received from Toucan's number, she clearly identified herself as being with Northwest Bio. Shr even said "I'm calling from Northwest Bio, er, NW Bio."
I got the same call, from Marjorie Sexton with NWBO, although the caller ID came up as Toucan Capital. Lol.
Lots of patent-related activity in July through now. No new applications filed, but there seems to be a sudden surge of "requests for continued examination" for applications that had previously fallen off track, plus many responses to ones that had been previously rejected. When I have some time I will try to post a more complete update, but here's one recent example of an amendment / reconsideration request that the company filed on 8/26/19. Subject application is "Compositions and Methods for Priming Monocytic Dendritic Cells and T Cells for TH-1 Response."
Enjoy!
https://drive.google.com/file/d/10NqUmKaylalMxvf56tlqZtA6hWTNaXZP/view?usp=drivesdk
This is a topic that makes me nearly go berserk. I couldn't believe my ears at the annual meeting when Linda went on and on about the evil shorts, and how us shareholders were partially to blame, etc.
It's really simple. Put up good results, announce meaningful partnerships, licensing deals, or new trials... Stock price goes up.
Stay silent, release mediocre/poor results... Stock price stagnates or goes down.
Everything else is a distraction. "The shorts" are a distraction. "The wolfpack" is a distraction.
If they have the goods, we will be rewarded. If not, blaming the evil-doers is a way for them to buy more time.
My money is on the science. Nothing else.
You're right. Let's go get 'em.
I'm going to bed.
You guys realize there's a guy over on Investor Village who has been putting in the 911 trades every day just to mess with folks, right? He even posted screenshots of the trade confirmations. Sorry, but I just can't sit quiet any more and watch the ridiculous conspiracy theories fester.
New NWBO patent filing just became public three days ago... appears to be related to Direct. Still digesting...
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1kxKkvN6rnnNIYjO0JYqpNQdKoHHWTP41
Any clues here? This paper talks about a patient who received DCVax, had to discontinue, then started a different therapy.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/2162402X.2018.1561106?scroll=top&needAccess=true
No new applications in the last year. Lots of activity on ones filed previously.
Here's a snapshot of open applications:
http://appft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.html&r=0&p=1&f=S&l=50&Query=An%2FNorthwest+and+an%2Fbiotherapeutics&d=PG01
And here's a snapshot of awarded patents:
http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO2&Sect2=HITOFF&u=%2Fnetahtml%2FPTO%2Fsearch-adv.htm&r=0&p=1&f=S&l=50&Query=An%2FNorthwest+and+an%2Fbiotherapeutics&d=PTXT
The patent and/or file number from these entries can be used to access the entire correspondence record in the Public PAIR system (including full images of documents filed).
Closing comments from Alton Boynton (via phone):
We have been at this for 25 years. We will never give up until this is available for all brain cancer patients, and that will happen!
LP: That was a forward looking statement. (Room erupted in laughter and applause)