Anixa Biosciences (NASDAQ:ANIX) reported that its partner, Cleveland Clinic, received an intention-to-grant notice from the European Patent Office (EPO) for the patent application covering the company’s ovarian cancer vaccines.
“Having recently been granted a U.S. patent for this novel ovarian cancer vaccine technology, we are delighted to receive the EPO’s intention-to-grant notice, as a European patent would extend protection of the technology to additional potential markets,” Dr. Amit Kumar, chairman and CEO of Anixa, said in a statement.
The patent, titled “Ovarian Cancer Vaccines”, was invented by the late Dr. Vincent Tuohy, Dr. Suparna Mazumder, and Dr. Justin Johnson of Cleveland Clinic. Anixa exclusively licensed the technology from and is developing the technology in partnership with the not-for-profit, multispecialty academic medical center. The National Cancer Institute is collaborating on development through its PREVENT program.
The ovarian cancer vaccine targets the extracellular domain of anti-Müllerian hormone receptor 2 (AMHR2-ED), which is expressed in the ovaries but disappears as a woman reaches and advances through menopause. However, AMHR2-ED is expressed again in the majority of ovarian cancers.
