Scancell Holdings PLC (LON:SCLP) said the European Patent Office has "granted broad protection" for the company's Moditope immunotherapy platform, which comes into effect from June 13.
It covers the company's pipeline of Moditope-derived vaccines. Counterparts to the patent have been filed in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, South Africa and the US, the firm added.
"This is a key patent for Scancell and endorses our work in identifying a new class of cancer vaccine capable of inducing potent immune responses to stress-induced post-translational modifications (siPTM), in this case, through citrullination of cellular proteins," said chief scietific officer, Professor Lindy Durrant.
Well positioned
"We are now well positioned to develop a pipeline of new Moditope therapies with the potential to address the unmet need across a broad range of hard-to-treat cancers including ovarian, triple negative breast cancer and sarcoma."
First-in-man trials with Modi-1, which combines Moditope peptides with an ultra-efficient substance called an adjuvant that enhances the body's immune response, are due to start in the first half of next year.