The US office of patents and trademarks has issued notice of allowance to Ampio Pharmaceuticals for diabetic macular edema (DME) drug Optina patent.
The company has also received similar patent from the Canadian Intellectual Property Office, covering the North American territories.
Ampio CEO Michael Macaluso said Optina is an ultra-low oral (capsule), not commercially available, dose of danazol for the treatment of DME.
"These patent claims provide especially strong protection because of the unexpected finding of efficacy only at the very low doses," Macaluso added.
"Ampio is currently in discussions with potential partners to co-develop Optina™ for DME."
Other additional patents for using Optina for the treatment of macular edema and diabetic retinopathy are pending worldwide, the company said.