News for 'NNVC' - (NanoViricides Announces Issuance of a Fundamental Patent in the USA)
WEST HAVEN, Conn., May 07, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- NanoViricides, Inc. (OTC BB:
NNVC) (the "Company") announced today that a fundamental patent, on which the
nanoviricides(R) technology is based, is due to be issued in the
USA on May 8, 2012. The issuance notification was received from the US Patents
and Trademarks Office last week.
The US Patent (No. 8,173,764) is granted for "Solubilization and Targeted
Delivery of Drugs with Self-Assembling Amphiphilic Polymers." It will be issued
on May 8, 2012. The patent term is expected to last through October 1, 2026,
including an anticipated extension, with the possibility of further extensions
in compensation for time spent in clinical trials.
The US Patent has been allowed with a very broad range of claims to a large
number of families of chemical structure compositions, pharmaceutical
compositions, methods of making the same, and uses of the same. The disclosed
structures enable self-assembling, biomimetic nanomedicines. NanoViricides, Inc.
holds exclusive, perpetual, worldwide licenses to these technologies for a broad
range of antiviral applications and diseases.
Based on international PCT application number WO 2007/1084126, which was filed
in 2006, corresponding patents have also been issued in New Zealand and South
Africa, and as a regional (OAPI) patent valid in sixteen other African states.
Additional issuances are expected in Europe, and in several other countries
around the world.
"It is rewarding to see that the US Patent and
Trademark Office (USPTO) recognized the novelty and the broad utility of the
entire 'pi-polymer' class
of materials as defined by the inventors, and granted a patent with sufficient
scope to protect the whole of the invention, for all foreseeable pharmaceutical
applications, including the nanoviricides(R) anti-viral
substances," said Dr. James Demers, PhD, JD, now with
Gotham Patent Services LLC, who represents the inventors before the USPTO and
directs the international patenting effort. He further added,
"The application was drafted so as to describe and
claim Dr. Diwan's invention, on which the nanoviricides(R)
technology is based, as broadly as possible, and we anticipate that other
countries around the world will also grant claims similar to those allowed by
the USPTO."
"We are very pleased with the validation of the
novelty of our technologies," said Dr. Diwan,
President and Chairman of NanoViricides, Inc., adding,
"This patent establishes a fundamentally new direction
in developing biomimetic approaches. It creates a germane field within polymeric
micelle technologies, introducing structures that we call pi-polymers. These are
the structures that enable the creation of a nanoviricide(R) with
its unique biomimetic features. These biomimetic features allow us to make the
nanoviricide look like a host-cell membrane to the virus, with the goal of
deceiving the virus to land on it and thereupon destroy
itself."
"Issuance of this patent with its broad set of claims
validates the strong leadership position we have in biomimetic
technologies," said Dr. Jayant Tatake, Vice-President
of R&D of the Company.
Commenting on the patent award, Dr. Eugene Seymour, MD, MPH, Chief Executive
Officer of the Company, stated, "We always knew that
this is a ground-breaking technology. We believe, based on the tremendous
effectiveness that our nanoviricides drugs have shown against a large number of
viral diseases in several very stringent animal models, that this technology
spells a fundamental change in how medicines will be developed in the future.
For example, our anti-influenza clinical candidate, Flucide(TM),
was developed using the nanoviricide(R) technology, and has
exhibited surprisingly high levels of effectiveness in animal studies, far
surpassing the existing drugs. Our expectation that FluCide will work well in
humans is based upon the results of these animal studies that indicate (1)
extremely high treatment effectiveness in inhibiting the cycle of infection,
virus expansion and spread of infection and, (2) the significantly long lasting
effects of the drug treatment even after the drug is
discontinued."
The patents are being issued to the inventors Anil R. Diwan, PhD, Jayant G.
Tatake, PhD, and Ann L. Onton, all of who are among the founders of
NanoViricides, Inc. The patents have been assigned to AllExcel, Inc., the
Company at which the ground-breaking work was performed. AllExcel, Inc. has
contractually transferred this intellectual property to TheraCour Pharma, Inc.
NanoViricides, Inc. holds exclusive worldwide licenses to these technologies for
a broad range of antiviral applications and diseases that include All Influenzas
including Asian Bird Flu Virus, Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV/AIDS),
Hepatitis B Virus (HBV), Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV),
Dengue viruses, Rabies virus, Ebola/Marburg viruses, Japanese Encephalitis
virus, as well as viruses causing viral Conjunctivitis (a disease of the eye)
and ocular herpes.
About NanoViricides: NanoViricides, Inc. (www.nanoviricides.com) is a
development stage company that is creating special purpose nanomaterials for
viral therapy. The Company's novel nanoviricide(R) class of drug
candidates are designed to specifically attack enveloped virus particles and to
dismantle them. The Company is developing drugs against a number of viral
diseases including H1N1 swine flu, H5N1 bird flu, seasonal Influenza, HIV, oral
and genital Herpes, viral diseases of the eye including EKC and herpes
keratitis, Hepatitis C, Rabies, Dengue fever, and Ebola virus, among others.
This press release contains forward-looking statements that reflect the
Company's current expectation regarding future events. Actual events could
differ materially and substantially from those projected herein and depend on a
number of factors. Certain statements in this release, and other written or oral
statements made by NanoViricides, Inc. are
"forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the
Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements since they
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which are, in
some cases, beyond the Company's control and which could, and likely will,
materially affect actual results, levels of activity, performance or
achievements. The Company assumes no obligation to publicly update or revise
these forward-looking statements for any reason, or to update the reasons actual
results could differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking
statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. Important
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the company's
expectations include, but are not limited to, those factors that are disclosed
under the heading "Risk Factors" and elsewhere in documents filed by the company
from time to time with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and
other regulatory authorities. Although it is not possible to predict or identify
all such factors, they may include the following: demonstration and proof of
principle in pre-clinical trials that a nanoviricide is safe and effective;
successful development of our product candidates; our ability to seek and obtain
regulatory approvals, including with respect to the indications we are seeking;
the successful commercialization of our product candidates; and market
acceptance of our products.
SOURCE: NanoViricides, Inc.
CONTACT:
NanoViricides, Inc.
Amanda Schuon, 310-550-7200
info@nanoviricides.com
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