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Market:	ASX
Sector:	Pharma & Biotech
EPIC:	CUV
Latest Price:	1.65 (0.30% )
52-week High:	2.30
52-week Low:	1.41
Market Cap:	51.55M

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Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals

Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals (ASX: CUV) is an Australian biopharmaceutical company developing a photoprotective pharmaceutical under the generic name afamelanotide. The company's focus is to gain market approval for afamelanotide to manage the symptoms of severe sufferers of UV and light related skin disorders.

Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals secures patent for melanin activating drugs

Tuesday, November 08, 2011 by Angela Kean

Clinuvel Pharmaceuticals (ASX: CUV) has been granted pivotal patent protection in the U.S. for novel formulations of a new class of melanin activating drugs.

The United States Patent and Trademark Office granted the patent protection for the delivery of melanocortins as photoprotective agents in transdermal formulations.

Clinuvel has two melanocortin drugs in development – afamelanotide and CUV9900 – both of which are equivalents of the naturally occurring hormone that stimulates the production and release of melanin in skin, alpha-Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone (alpha-MSH).

The patent grants Clinuvel exclusive rights for compositions of alpha-MSH analogues and transdermal delivery systems, and methods of inducing melanogenesis, the process of melanin production, by topical administration.

The patent will allow the company a further extension of the use of afamelanotide and CUV9900 in non-invasive formulations.

Afamelanotide

Clinuvel has developed its novel drug SCENESSE® (afamelanotide) to provide photoprotection to patients diagnosed with UV and light related disorders of the skin.

Last month the company reported early positive results from a U.S. clinical trial of SCENESSE in patients with a loss of melanin production that shows a possible acceleration in the repigmentation in patients.

Early observations in 21 patients shows that monthly dosing of afamelanotide, through a 16 milligram implant, in combination with narrowband ultraviolet B radiation therapy, has the capacity to achieve accelerated and deeper pigmentation of vitiliginous skin lesions.

The trial is ongoing across three centres in the U.S. – California, Michigan and New York – and is expected to be complete in early 2012. A parallel study is under way in Europe across three centres in France, Italy and Switzerland.

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