On October 10, 2016 Mateon Therapeutics, Inc. (Nasdaq:MATN), a biopharmaceutical company developing vascular disrupting agents (VDAs) for the treatment of orphan oncology indications, reported that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued U.S. Patent 9,458,103 to Mateon and Baylor University for "Compositions and methods for inhibition of cathepsins." The patent covers compounds which modulate cathepsin activity, particularly cathepsin L or cathepsin K, and methods of using these compounds for the treatment of conditions in which their regulation may be therapeutically useful.

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"I am pleased to have this patent issued," stated William D. Schwieterman, M.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Mateon. "For the past few years we have been working with Baylor University to pursue discovery and development of novel, small-molecule therapeutics that may be effective in oncology indications, and we are continuing several interesting, early-stage opportunities in this field."

Cathepsins have been validated as an important enzymatic class to target in drug discovery research, and eleven cysteine protease cathepsin enzymes have been identified to date in humans, with different structures and functions. Cathepsin L has a function in the growth and metastasis of primary tumors and has been implicated in diabetes, immunological responses, degradation of the articular cartilage matrix, and other pathological processes, including osteoporosis and rheumatoid arthritis. Inhibition of cathepsin L has also been shown to block Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Ebola pseudotype virus infection. Cathepsin K plays a role in bone resorption and has implications in osteoporosis.