BOSTON – CureLab Oncology, a clinical-stage biotech company, has been granted a US patent for the application of its lead product for the treatment of ALS, Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, and Parkinson’s disease. These patent applications were already granted in Asia and Europe.
Today, 5 million Americans suffer from Alzheimer’s, 1 million from Parkinson’s, 30,000 from Huntington’s disease, and 30,000 from ALS. The incidence of these diseases is expected to soar as the population ages.
“Our current product is a circular DNA encoding a particular protein, p62. However, it can be modified to a vast variety of alternate forms, including a therapeutic microbiome. In fact, we recently published a paper demonstrating that Lactobacillus lactis containing a circular DNA with an inserted p62 gene reduced signs of Alzheimer’s in mice. All of these alternate products are covered by the granted patent,” said Dr. Franco Venanzi, CureLab’s director of basic research.
CureLab’s research is focused on a new strategy for treatment of these diseases since neurodegenerative diseases, like some cancers, involve chronic inflammation in their pathogenesis. CureLab’s lead product, Elenagen™, reduces chronic inflammation. In its ongoing cancer clinical studies, CureLab has observed a desirable safety profile and a preliminary evidence of clinical benefits of Elenagen for cancer patients.
“With this patent, we continue to expand, strengthen and protect our worldwide p62-based gene therapy patent estate,” said Alexander Shneider, Ph.D., CEO of CureLab Oncology. “Alternate applications of our product became evident through mechanistic insights into its anti-cancer effect. This anti-neurodegenerative dimension to our work does not distract us from our cancer clinical trials—rather, it adds a synergistic component to our R&D.”
CureLab plans clinical trials to establish effectiveness of its lead product and product variations for treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.
For more information, see “Neuroprotective effects of p62(SQSTM1)-engineered lactic acid bacteria in Alzheimer’s disease: a pre-clinical study” in Aging, August 29. 2020.
About CureLab Oncology
CureLab Oncology Inc. is a pre-IPO, clinical-stage immuno-oncology biotech company headquartered in the greater Boston area. CureLab is dedicated to advancing new and safer therapeutics for solid tumors and other oncology and inflammatory indications. To learn more, visit curelab.com.
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Tim Cox, ZingPR, [email protected]