Phio Pharmaceuticals Corp (PHIO)

[The Other Guy]

RXi Pharmaceuticals Granted Patent in Japan for Lead Clinical Candidate RXI-109

Source: PR Newswire (US)
MARLBOROUGH, Mass., March 28, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- RXi Pharmaceuticals Corporation (NASDAQ: RXII), a clinical-stage RNAi company developing innovative therapeutics that address significant unmet medical needs, today announced that it was granted a patent from the Japan Patent Office (JPO) for the composition of matter of sd-rxRNAs targeting connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) for the treatment or prevention of fibrotic disorders, including but not limited to skin fibrosis and proliferative retinopathy (Japanese Patent #: 6060071). This patent includes the Company's lead clinical candidate RXI-109, an sd-rxRNA therapeutic compound, which is currently being evaluated in Phase 2 clinical trials. The patent, once issued, will be set to expire in 2031.

"From our ongoing Phase 2 clinical trials, we have reported preliminary results indicating that the use of RXI-109 after scar revision surgery had a visible, beneficial effect on the suppression of hypertrophic scarring, at three months following revision surgery. We have also shown RXI-109 to be safe and well-tolerated in the eye in our ongoing ocular trial. This patent increases our ability to protect our novel CTGF-targeting compounds which are based on our proprietary self-delivering RNAi platform," said Pamela Pavco, PhD, Chief Development Officer of RXi Pharmaceuticals. She added that, "The granting of this patent in Japan further strengthens RXi's intellectual property estate for future commercial and regional business development opportunities for RXI-109."