RedHill Biopharma Ltd (RDHL)

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RedHill Biopharma Secures Allowance of Key Chinese Patent Application for Proprietary COVID-19 Treatment, RHB-107

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/redhill-biopharma-secures-allowance-key-110300040.html

Strong Use of Composition-of-Matter Coverage: Patent protects the molecular structure of RHB-107, providing market exclusivity beyond method-of-use claims

COVID-19 Therapeutic Use: Includes coverage for treatment of SARS-CoV-2, including wild-type and emerging variants

This patent grant enhances RedHill's strategic positioning in the global COVID-19 therapeutic space, a market still expected to be worth more than $3 billion in 2025[1], and expands its patent footprint in Asia, a key pharmaceutical market


RHB-107 successfully met the primary endpoint of safety and tolerability, delivering promising reduction in hospitalization efficacy results in a U.S. Phase 2 COVID-19 study[2]. Additional clinical data expected from the externally non-dilutive funded PROTECT study, supported by the U.S. Department of Defense

RHB-107 is a novel, patient-friendly oral, once-daily, host-directed potential broad-acting antiviral expected to act independently of viral spike protein mutations[3]

RALEIGH, N.C. and TEL-AVIV, Israel, April 28, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- RedHill Biopharma Ltd. (Nasdaq: RDHL) ("RedHill" or the "Company"), a specialty biopharmaceutical company, today announced that the China National Intellectual Property Administration ("CNIPA") has formally allowed a critical use of composition-of-matter patent for RedHill's proprietary investigational compound RHB-107 (upamostat), a potential oral treatment for COVID-19 (patent application No. 202311591091.6).

"This newly allowed Chinese patent application is a significant success, enhancing RedHill's strategic positioning in the global COVID-19 therapeutic space – a market still expected to be worth more than three billion dollars in 2025. It provides broad and robust protection of the use of RHB-107, including its structure in oral formulations targeting SARS-CoV-2 infections, including both wild-type and naturally occurring variants and expanding its patent footprint in Asia, a key pharmaceutical market," said Guy Goldberg, RedHill's Chief Business Officer. "It underscores the uniqueness of our antiviral candidate and further strengthens our global intellectual property portfolio as we advance development of a much-needed oral candidate for early, community-based (non-hospitalized) treatment of COVID-19, which still represents a considerable threat to vulnerable patients. As a novel, potentially broad-acting, host-directed antiviral that is expected to act independently of viral spike protein mutations, RHB-107, if approved, could provide a much-needed additional option for use in the early COVID-19 treatment space, alongside Pfizer's Paxlovid."

Data from RHB-107's U.S. Phase 2 study, published in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases, showed a 100% reduction in hospitalization due to COVID-19, with zero patients (0/41) on the RHB-107 arms versus 15% (3/20) hospitalized for COVID-19 on the placebo-controlled arm (nominal p-value=0.0317). The study also showed an approximately 88% reduction in reported new severe COVID-19 symptoms after treatment initiation, with new severe COVID-19 symptoms reported by only 2.4% of the RHB-107 treated group (1/41) compared to 20% (4/20) of patients in the placebo-controlled arm (nominal p-value=0.036). Further post-hoc analysis showed faster recovery periods from severe COVID-19 symptoms with a median of 3 days to recovery with RHB-107 compared to 8 days with placebo. Additional clinical data is expected from the externally non-dilutive funded PROTECT study, supported by the U.S. Department of Defense.


About RHB-107 (upamostat)

RHB-107 is a proprietary, first-in-class, once-daily orally administered investigational antiviral, that targets human serine proteases involved in preparing the spike protein for viral entry into target cells. Because it is host-cell targeted, RHB-107 is expected to also be effective against emerging viral variants with mutations in the spike protein. RHB-107 is well tolerated; in the initial COVID-19 study, among 41 patients only one reported a drug-related adverse reaction (a mild, self-limited, rash).

In addition, RHB-107 inhibits several proteases targeting cancer and inflammatory gastrointestinal disease. RHB-107 has undergone several Phase 1 studies and two Phase 2 studies, demonstrating its clinical safety profile in approximately 200 patients[4].

RedHill acquired the exclusive worldwide rights to RHB-107, excluding China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao, from Germany's Heidelberg Pharma AG (FSE: HPHA) (formerly WILEX AG) for all indications.