Starpharma gains new US patent approval

Nanotechnology drug developer Starpharma Pooled Development (ASX: SPL) today announced it had gained approval for a United States patent over its dendrimer-based anti-cancer products.

The technology, developed by scientists at the former Biomolecular Research Institute, is exclusively licensed by the BRI to Starpharma, the wholly owned subsidiary of SPL.

Starpharma was originally set up to commercialise novel polyvalent compound technology developed at the BRI, and holds exclusive world-wide rights to that work.

The inventors named on the patent, Dr Barry Matthews and Dr George Holan, are both now employed by Starpharma.

The company says the patent, titled "Angiogenic Inhibitory Compounds" provides Starpharma with broad patent rights related to dendrimer-based products that inhibit angiogenesis, or blood vessel growth.

This is an important part of cancer tumour growth and spread process.

"The granting of this patent confirms Starpharma's broad intellectual property position in the development of dendrimer nanodrugs," said company CEO Dr John Raff.

The company's dendrimers are synthetic nanoscale compounds that have been found in cell-based tests and in animal models of cancer to inhibit angiogenesis, and are intended for treatment of existing cancers as well as the prevention of their spread.

As well as its angiogenesis work, the company is also developing dendrimers for other pharmaceutical applications and is currently testing a topical microbicide gel for the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases.

At the time of writing, shares in Starpharma were trading about 3 per cent lower at just under 50 cents.