Jenken Biosciences Granted Key Patent for Compounds To Treat Chronic Liver and Kidney Diseases

FDA-Approved Compound Ready for Phase II Clinical Study

Released on: March 27, 2009, 8:55 am
Author: Jenken Biosciences
Industry: Healthcare

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., March 2009 – Jenken Biosciences, Inc., an emerging specialty pharmaceutical company, announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted a patent on Jenken’s compounds for the treatment of diseases associated with kidney diseases and chronic liver diseases, such as hepatitis and fatty liver disease.

Jenken’s patented compounds are developed by “repurposing” FDA-approved off-patent drugs for new, first-in-class therapeutic uses.

The patent, US 7501433, “Opioid and opioid-like compounds and uses thereof,” with an anticipated term through 2022, will provide broad protection for the Company’s repurposed drugs’ new indications targeted at treating organ damage associated with chronic liver or kidney diseases.

The Company’s leading drug candidate has been approved by the FDA for a Phase II clinical study targeted at treating liver damage in Hepatitis patients. The endpoint of the study will be to restore normal liver function by reducing inflammation in Hepatitis C patients who do not respond to current interferon/anti-viral therapies.

Jenken’s second clinical candidate has exhibited efficacy in preclinical trials as an anti-fibrotic for treating fatty liver disease.

“The validation by the USPTO of the potential utility of our compounds is a significant step in making totally new therapeutic options available to the millions of patients around the world who suffer from chronic liver diseases, such as hepatic fibrosis, steatohepatitis (NASH) or fatty liver disease,” said Barry Buzogany, Jenken’s President and CEO.

“In the U.S. alone, approximately 25 million people are afflicted with some form of chronic liver disorder,” Buzogany explained. “Of these, there are about four million people infected with the Hepatitis C virus and another 12 million with fatty liver disease. Currently there are no therapies available to treat liver damage associated with either hepatitis or with fatty liver disease.”

According to Dr. Edwin Wu, Jenken’s Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, “Jenken’s proprietary technology for cytokine modulation, a specific therapy for diseases associated with chronic inflammation, offers the potential to restore normal liver or kidney function regardless of the cause of the damage or disease.”
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Contact: Barry Buzogany
919 765-0032 jbbuzogany@jenkenbio.com