VASTox gaint Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy patent
VASTox plc announced that the US Patent Office has granted a patent (US Application No.10/089,928/Utrophin Gene Promoter) which provides additional protection to the Company's drug discovery programme in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).
The granting of this patent increases the value of VASTox's DMD programme as it further protects the Company's approach to finding new medicines to treat this fatal disease. This patent has also been filed in other territories including Europe and is in addition to an earlier DMD related patent that has already been granted in the US, Europe and Australia.
VASTox's scientific approach involves using small drug like molecules to increase the body's levels of a protein called utrophin to replace a very similar protein called dystrophin which is missing in DMD patients. The absence of dystrophin leads to severe muscle wasting and is ultimately fatal for all DMD sufferers.
In recent months, VASTox has sought to further strengthen the patent estate around its DMD programme through the filing of a significant number of patents which cover several classes of active compounds which have been identified during the development of the DMD programme.
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