On May 2, 2016 AVEO Oncology (NASDAQ:AVEO) reported that it has filed provisional patent applications with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) covering composition of matter claims for AV-353, the Company’s potent inhibitory antibody specific to Notch 3 (Press release, AVEO, MAY 2, 2016, View Source;p=RssLanding&cat=news&id=2163617 [SID:1234511738]). These patent applications are the second set of applications related to AV-353 and the Company’s Notch 3 antibody program.
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The Notch 3 signaling pathway is important in cell-to-cell communication involving gene regulation mechanisms that control multiple cell differentiation processes during the entire life cycle. Scientific literature has implicated the Notch 3 receptor pathway in multiple diseases, including cancer, cardiovascular diseases and neurodegenerative conditions. Recent publications, including Nature Medicine (2009), have implicated the Notch 3 pathway in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH). PAH is a rare and life-threatening disorder that affects approximately 250,000 people worldwide and is caused by enlargement of the arterial walls in small arteries between the heart and the lungs, resulting in restricted blood flow.
Current treatments in PAH focus only on controlling symptoms by avoiding vasoconstriction and increasing vasodilation of vessels and do not reverse the underlying cause of the disease. In contrast, with the results of a recently concluded research study supported by AVEO, AV-353 has generated a growing body of preclinical data that supports AV-353’s ability to potentially reverse the disease phenotype, which would represent a potential disease-modifying approach to treatment. A manuscript of the results is being prepared for submission to a peer-reviewed journal.
"Like AV-380 in cachexia, which AVEO licensed to Novartis in 2015, AV-353 is an AVEO legacy discovery program that, with the appropriate development support from a partner, has the potential to transform the treatment paradigm for a debilitating disorder and underserved patient population," said Michael Bailey, president and chief executive officer of AVEO. "We believe that AV-353’s selectivity and high affinity to Notch 3, as demonstrated in preclinical studies, makes it unique relative to pan-notch inhibitory or ligand inhibitory approaches in PAH treatment, allowing us to potentially build a broad patent estate around this program. Consistent with our current focus on developing oncology therapeutics, AVEO is currently seeking an appropriate partner to develop and commercialize AV-353 worldwide in PAH."