Benzinga | Feb 10, 2021 07:08AM EST

Bio-Path Receives Third U.S. Patent Grant Related to Manufacture of Platform Technology

Bio-Path Holdings, Inc., (NASDAQ:BPTH), a biotechnology company leveraging its proprietary DNAbilize(r) liposomal delivery and antisense technology to develop a portfolio of targeted nucleic acid cancer drugs, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has granted U.S. Patent No. 10,898,506 titled, "P-ethoxy nucleic acids for liposomal formulation." The new patent builds on earlier patents granted that protect the platform technology for DNAbilize(r), the Company's novel RNAi nanoparticle drugs.

In addition, the United States Patent and Trademark Office has mailed an Issue Notification for a patent related to the Company's lead product candidate, prexigebersen, in combination with either a cytidine analogue, such as decitabine, or the Bcr-Abl tyrosine kinase inhibitors dasatinib and nilotinib. Prexigebersen is a liposomal formulation containing the antisense oligodeoxynucleotide targeting growth factor receptor-bound protein 2 (Grb2). The new patent is scheduled to issue as U.S. Patent No. 10,927,379 on February 23, 2021.

"Our innovative DNAbilize platform improves upon the drawbacks of traditional approaches, which are limited by the toxicity induced by either the DNAbackbone or the lipid delivery," said Peter Nielsen, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bio-Path Holdings. "DNAbilize overcomes these challenges by combining a neutral charge P-ethoxy DNA backbone with a neutral charge liposome. The result is a high payload liposome with DNA safely delivered inside non-toxic cell membrane-like molecules, allowing us to deliver antisense DNA in high doses to target cells through the blood and lymphatic system with no evidence of toxicity in patients in clinical trials to date, in contrast to other lipid delivery technologies with dose limiting toxicities."

"The '506 patent is the third patent in our family of platform intellectual property and offers expanded defense of our DNAbilize platform technology. The '379 patent will offer target-specific protection for on-going clinical trials using prexigebersen in combination with decitabine as a treatment for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We continue our efforts to build a fortress of protection around our technology as it safeguards our platform technology and target-specific technology, is a deterrent to would-be competitors and creates value around our core competencies," continued Mr. Nielsen.