LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Poolbeg Pharma announced the receipt of a notice of allowance from the Japanese Patent Office for its Immunomodulator I patent application on Wednesday.
The AIM-traded firm said the approved claims pertained to a p38 MAPK - mitogen-activated protein kinase - inhibitor for treating severe influenza in human patients.

It said the move bolstered its already formidable intellectual property portfolio in Japan, with the patent set to be officially granted on finalising certain formalities.

The company boasted a global licence for POLB 001, intended for all human applications.

In its pursuit of building a comprehensive intellectual property portfolio, Poolbeg said it had secured patents for both Immunomodulator I and Immunomodulator II.

The patents covered the use of the class of p38 MAP kinase inhibitors for the treatment of not only severe influenza but also hypercytokinaemia.

Poolbeg said it had initiated the patent application process to broaden its intellectual property concerning POLB 001 and the application of p38 MAP kinase inhibitors in emergent medical domains, notably oncology.

Such efforts were expected to augment the appeal and value of POLB 001 to prospective pharmaceutical collaborators.

"This milestone is a testament to the uniqueness of p38 MAPK inhibition as a potential blockbuster treatment for severe influenza," said chief executive officer Jeremy Skillington.

"We are committed to continuing to strengthen the intellectual property protection of our portfolio of assets into new jurisdictions to increase their overall value to potential partners."

At 1410 BST, shares in Poolbeg Pharma were up 3.63% at 7.2p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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