Benzinga | May 26, 2021 05:14AM EDT

Immutep Granted Chinese Patent for Eftilagimod Alpha in Chemo-Immunotherapy Combination

Immutep Limited (NASDAQ:IMMP) is pleased to announce the grant of a new patent (numberZL201480073584.3) entitled "Combined Preparations for the Treatment of Cancer" by the Chinese Patent Office.This Chinese patent follows the grant of the corresponding European, Australian, Japanese and United States patents, as announced separately throughout 2019 and 2020. The new patent protects Immutep's intellectual property relating to combination therapy comprising (a) lead active immunotherapy candidateeftilagimod alpha (efti or IMP321), which is aLAG-3fusion protein(LAG-3Ig),and (b) a chemotherapy agent. The chemotherapy agent is oxaliplatin, carboplatin, or topotecan, and the patent provides protection in the territory of mainland China.The new patent is owned by Immutep S.A.S. and exclusively licensed to Immutep's partner in China, EOC Pharma ("EOC"). The patent expiry date is 19 December 2034.Dr. Frdric Triebel, Immutep's Chief Scientific Officer and Chief Medical Officer, noted: "Oxaliplatin, carboplatin and topotecan continue to be commonly used forms of chemotherapy in China and more broadly. Furthermore, combinations of chemotherapy and active immunotherapies have begun to be approved for the treatment of advanced solid tumors in recent years. As such, this new patent provides protection in the important Chinese territory for a range of novel and highly relevant chemo- immunotherapies featuring efti that could be developed in the future by our partner, EOC Pharma."EOC Pharma CEO, Xiaoming Zou, said: "We are very pleased that our partner, Immutep, continues to make important progress in building a robust patent estate around efti. This underpins our continued investment in this unique and promising candidate, and provides a range of future development options for our business."