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
