The US Patent and Trademark Office(USPTO)has granted a Notice of Allowance(NOA)to Silence Therapeutics for claims related to interfering RNA molecules and lipid complexes used in drug delivery.
The NOA,which is issued based on the 12/986,389 and 13/230,084 applications,will enable the company to receive patents for interfering RNA molecules and lipid complexes.
The claims related to interfering RNA molecules cover any double-stranded ribonucleic acid molecule where O-alkyl modified nucleotides are alternating with unmodified or differently modified nucleotides on both strands having a length of 17 to fewer than 30 ribonucleotides.
The patent,if granted,will extend the company's intellectual property(IP)related to double-stranded ribonucleic acid molecules to include molecules of 17 to fewer than 30 base pairs in length for use in methods for the treatment of disease.
The claims related to lipid complexes,the proprietary lipid which is a key element of the company's drug delivery technology Atufect,cover any composition irrespective of the class of compound to be delivered and irrespective of the disease to be treated.
Silence chief scientific officer Klaus Giese said the notifications from the USPTO further strengthens the company's IP position in the arena of RNAi therapeutics.
"The broad range of RNAi therapeutics in terms of their possible length of base pairs again distinguishes Silence from competitors which provide coverage for only very few lengths,if any,"Giese added.
"With this patent,Silence is becoming an even more attractive partner for companies interested in the delivery of a variety of classes of compounds with siRNA and miRNA being only two of them."
