Semafore Pharmaceuticals awarded U.S. patent covering PI-3 kinase inhibitor prodrugs

Feb 25 2010

Semafore Pharmaceuticals today announced today announced the United States Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) has issued United States Patent Number 7,662,977 entitled “PI-3 Kinase Inhibitor Prodrugs.” This composition of matter patent covers a genus of novel compounds that includes SF1126, Semafore’s clinical stage, small molecule inhibitor of phosphoinositide-3-kinase (PI3K) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), two key members of the PI3K signaling pathway that is vital to several essential biological processes, such as cell proliferation and survival. PI3K is commonly altered in human cancers, making inhibition of the target attractive for cancer therapy.

“We believe that the issuance of this U.S. patent recognizes the novelty and inventiveness of Semafore’s approach to create product candidates, such as SF1126, that are designed to deliver more active drug to the tumor while sparing normal tissue”

“We believe that the issuance of this U.S. patent recognizes the novelty and inventiveness of Semafore’s approach to create product candidates, such as SF1126, that are designed to deliver more active drug to the tumor while sparing normal tissue,” said Joseph Garlich, Ph.D., Semafore’s Chief Scientific Officer. “The issuance of the new U.S. patent is a significant milestone for the Company and greatly enhances the intellectual property portfolio around our lead clinical agent, SF1126.”

Semafore Pharmaceuticals also announced today that the Company received approval for a protocol amendment to expand an ongoing Phase I study to include B-cell malignancies, such as indolent non-Hodgkins lymphoma (NHL) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). While PI3K is among the most frequently activated signaling pathways in cancer, patients with B-cell malignancies have not been treated to date with SF1126 despite promising preclinical data that provides a rationale to explore its therapeutic activity in this setting.