Arrowhead Announces Issuance of Patent on Subsidiary's Key Technology.PASADENA, Calif. -- Arrowhead Research Corporation (Nasdaq:ARWR) announced today that European Patent No. 1093469, titled "Linear Cyclodextrin Copolymers," has been issued to the California Institute of Technology California Institute of Technology, at Pasadena, Calif.; originally for men, became coeducational in 1970; founded 1891 as Throop Polytechnic Institute; called Throop College of Technology, 1913–20. . The patent is exclusively licensed to Arrowhead's majority-owned subsidiary majority-owned subsidiary A firm in which more than 50% of outstanding voting stock is owned by the parent company. , Insert Therapeutics, a company commercializing delivery-enhanced therapeutics using a patented class of polymeric systems. "Having strong patent protection is crucial to high tech companies, particularly those in the nanotech space," said R. Bruce Stewart Bruce Stewart is a writer born in New Zealand. (1936– ), of Ngati Raukawa, Te Arawa, Stewart is a fiction writer and dramatist who has expressed the anger, confused loyalties and spiritual aspiration of late-twentieth-century Maori. , Arrowhead's Chairman. "Arrowhead will continue to aggressively build and protect our intellectual property rights." This patent covers all of the claims in three previously issued US patents covering the composition, method of preparation and methods of use of a new class of polymers for delivery of therapeutic compounds. Insert Therapeutics' proprietary Cyclosert[TM] technology platform is a part of the family of polymers covered by these patents, and represents a significant advance in the use of cyclodextrins for delivery of therapeutic compounds. Insert is currently using Cyclosert[TM] technology in its lead drug candidate, IT-101, an experimental drug being studied for the treatment of cancer in Phase I clinical trials at City of Hope Cancer Center in Duarte, CA. Insert expects to commence multiple Phase II trials later this year. IT-101 is a conjugate conjugate /con·ju·gate/ (kon´jdbobr-gat) 1. paired, or equally coupled; working in unison. 2. a conjugate diameter of the pelvic inlet; used alone usually to denote the true conjugate diameter; see of one of the Cyclosert[TM] polymers and the anti-cancer, small molecule drug camptothecin. Insert has also licensed a portion of the polymer family to its affiliate, Calando ca·lan·do adv. & adj. Music With a gradual decrease in volume and often tempo. Used chiefly as a direction. [Italian, present participle of calare, to slacken Pharmaceuticals, which is using polymers to deliver siRNA duplexes in the area of RNA interference RNA interference n. A process in which the introduction of double-stranded RNA into a cell inhibits the expression of genes. , a novel gene-silencing technology that may lead to an entire new class of therapeutics. Calando is preparing to file with the FDA FDA abbr. Food and Drug Administration FDA, n.pr See Food and Drug Administration. FDA, n.pr the abbreviation for the Food and Drug Administration. to begin clinical trials later this year. The claims cover polymers containing repeating units of cyclodextrin molecules and various co-monomers, linked together in a linear chain. In contrast to other approaches that graft molecules onto a polymer, the claimed polymers incorporate the cyclodextrin molecules into the polymer "backbone." This feature has aided in scale-up and resulted in more consistent commercial manufacture. Insert's linear cyclodextrin-containing polymers can form complexes with compounds ranging in size from small molecule drugs to nucleic acids Nucleic acids The cellular molecules DNA and RNA that act as coded instructions for the production of proteins and are copied for transmission of inherited traits. for improved therapeutic effects. Other issued and allowed patents cover various means of adding modifier (programming) modifier - An operation that alters the state of an object. Modifiers often have names that begin with "set" and corresponding selector functions whose names begin with "get". components to the polymer that aid the stability of the resulting polymer-drug nanoparticles in vivo in vivo /in vi·vo/ (ve´vo) [L.] within the living body. in vi·vo adj. Within a living organism. in vivo adv. and allow for the attachment of various targeting ligands. For more information about Insert and Calando, please visit their websites: www.insertt.com and www.calandopharma.com. About Arrowhead Research Corporation Arrowhead Research Corporation (www.arrowheadresearch.com) (NASDAQ:ARWR) is a leading nanotechnology company commercializing new technologies in the areas of life sciences, electronics, and energy. Arrowhead is building value for shareholders through the progress of majority owned subsidiaries founded on nanotechnologies originally developed at universities. The company works closely with universities to source early stage deals and to generate rights to intellectual property covering promising new nanotechnologies. Currently, Arrowhead has four subsidiaries commercializing nanotech products and applications, including anti-cancer drugs, RNAi therapeutics, carbon-based electronics and compound semiconductor materials Semiconductor materials are insulators at absolute zero temperature that conduct electricity in a limited way at room temperature (see also Semiconductor). The defining property of a semiconductor material is that it can be doped with impurities that alter its electronic properties . About Insert Therapeutics Inc. Insert Therapeutics, Inc. (www.insertt.com) is using its proprietary, nano-engineered, polymeric delivery system, Cyclosert(TM), to design, develop and commercialize drug-delivery-enhanced small-molecule therapeutics and nucleic acids. Cyclosert uses cyclodextrins as building blocks to create an entirely new class of biocompatible materials - linear cyclodextrin-containing polymers that are non-toxic and non-immunogenic at therapeutic doses. The company is pursuing this goal through its internal research and development, and also through collaborations and partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. About Calando Pharmaceuticals Inc. Calando Pharmaceuticals Inc. (www.calandopharma.com) is using its proprietary technologies in targeted polymeric delivery systems and siRNA design to design and create new, targeted siRNA therapeutics. Small interfering RNAs (siRNA) use RNA interference, or RNAi, a naturally occurring mechanism within cells to selectively silence and regulate specific genes. The ability to silence genes selectively through RNAi could provide a new way to treat a wide range of human diseases. The company is pursuing this goal through its internal research and development and also through collaborations and partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Safe Harbor Safe Harbor 1. A legal provision to reduce or eliminate liability as long as good faith is demonstrated. 2. A form of shark repellent implemented by a target company acquiring a business that is so poorly regulated that the target itself is less attractive. Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (PSLRA) implemented several significant substantive changes affecting certain cases brought under the federal securities laws, including changes related to pleading, discovery, liability, class representation and awards fees and of 1995: This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon our current expectations and speak only as of the date hereof. Our actual results may differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements as a result of various factors and uncertainties, including the recent economic slowdown affecting technology companies, the future success of our scientific studies, our ability to successfully develop products, rapid technological change in our markets, changes in demand for our future products, legislative, regulatory and competitive developments and general economic conditions. Our latest Annual Report on Form 10-K Form 10-K A report required by the SEC from exchange-listed companies that provides for annual disclosure of certain financial information. Form 10-K See 10-K. , recent and forthcoming Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q Form 10-Q See 10-Q. , recent Current Reports on Forms 8-K, our Registration Statements on Form S-3, and other SEC filings discuss some of the important risk factors that may affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason. |
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