On April 9, 2020 Scholar Rock (NASDAQ: SRRK), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the treatment of serious diseases in which protein growth factors play a fundamental role, reported that the United States Patent Office (USPTO) issued U.S. Patent No. 10,597,443 with an expiry of May 2034 (Press release, Scholar Rock, APR 9, 2020, View Source [SID1234556237]). This patent broadly covers methods for making activation modulators of TGFβ that utilize Scholar Rock’s proprietary platform approach of targeting the precursor form of growth factors.
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"We are pleased with this important addition to our patent portfolio as it further differentiates our leadership position in the development of antibodies that modulate signaling of TGFβ isoforms," said Nagesh Mahanthappa, Ph.D., President and CEO of Scholar Rock. "TGFβ is a key driver of a number of disease-relevant processes, including fibrosis and immune system evasion by cancer cells, for which we have discovered highly potent and selective inhibitors of TGFβ1 activation. Notably, this patent covers SRK-181, our product candidate being developed for the treatment of cancers resistant to checkpoint inhibitor therapy, such as anti-PD-(L)1 antibodies."
The issued claims are directed to manufacture methods that include selection of modulators that specifically bind a large latent complex antigen of TGFβ isoforms. This broadly relates to TGFβ activation inhibitors that are specific to the context of presenting molecules, such as GARP and LTBP, as well as activation inhibitors that are not dependent on a specific presenting molecule. The latter class of antibodies includes our cancer immunotherapy clinical product candidate, SRK-181, being developed to expand the number of patients who could benefit from checkpoint inhibitor therapies.