Phylogica awarded Patent for drug screening

Perth drug researcher Phylogica has received Notice of Allowance for a pending patent application covering a high level screening method for isolating Phylomer® and other drug candidates that block disease-related protein interactions.
The patent pending is entitled: "Improved Reverse N-Hybrid Method" EP #1268842.
Phylomers® are stable fragments of naturally-occurring proteins with the ability to bind tightly to disease causing proteins and inactivate them as a result. Phylomer® drugs can be selected from libraries for their activity against specific disease target proteins. These are patent protected in Australia, New Zealand, USA and Europe.
According to Dr Paul Watt, Scientific Director of Phylogica "This patent will allow us to exclusively isolate the most promising drug candidates from Phylogica's libraries which contain millions of Phylomers®. It allows us to rapidly select only those Phylomer® candidates that have a positive effect on living cells and are not harmful."
Phylogica has already successfully isolated active Phylomer® drug candidates for stroke and burns treatment using the yeast screening method. Each of these candidates is being further developed in preclinical trials before out-licensing.
Dr Watt points out that Phylogica's proprietary yeast screening method is also being looked at with great interest by other international biotechnology companies that want to isolate their own drug candidates.
This is Phylogica's seventh patent to be approved and the first in this family. Phylogica's intellectual property portfolio includes eight patent families covering the construction and applications of the Phylomer® libraries and Blocker Trap screening platform.
"This patent was filed in 2001 and it has finally been approved in Europe, one of the most difficult jurisdictions in which to have a patent prosecuted," explains Dr Watt.
"Europe represents the second largest global market of drug discovery companies outside the US," he adds.