JPO issues patent grant for Apricus's Femprox

Oct 19 2010

Apricus Biosciences, Inc., ("Apricus Bio") (Nasdaq: APRI) backed by a revenue generating CRO business and seeking to leverage its multi-route NexACT^® drug delivery technology and internal pipeline through out-licensing partnerships, today announced that the Japanese Patent Office has issued a Decision to Grant a Patent for the Company's application on Femprox entitled, "Compositions and Methods for Amelioration of Human Female Sexual Dysfunction." This patent, when issued, will provide Japanese patent protection to December 2019, and is one in a series of patents and pending applications that Apricus Bio owns on Femprox and the underlying NexACT technology.

“We are very pleased with our first patent allowance for Femprox in Japan. We continue to aggressively pursue intellectual property ("IP”

Commenting on today's news, Dr. Bassam Damaj, President and Chief Executive Officer of Apricus Bio, stated, "We are very pleased with our first patent allowance for Femprox in Japan. We continue to aggressively pursue intellectual property ("IP") coverage for our technology and product candidates under development and this allowance adds to the strength of our overall IP position. In addition to the newly allowed claims in Japan, we have corresponding coverage and protection for Femprox in many other major international markets. The advancement of our patent portfolio comes at an optimal time, as we are in active discussions with potential partners to out-license Femprox."

Femprox is an alprostadil-based cream intended for the treatment of female sexual arousal disorder. Apricus has completed nine clinical studies to date, including one, 98-patient Phase 2 study in the U.S. and a 400-patient proof-of-concept Phase 2/3 study in China, where the cost for conducting clinical studies was significantly lower than in the U.S.