TetraLogic receives birinapant patent

Japan recognises birinapant innovation.

Global pharmaceutical company TetraLogic has announced that its application to patent a new cancer treatment has been accepted by the Japanese Patent Office (JPO).

The development, known as Smac mimetic, is currently in phase 2 clinical studies and encompasses birnapant as a new chemical entity. It is hoped the treatment will be effective against a number of different cancers.
Approval from the JPO means that Japan is the ninth country to acknowledge the patentability of TetraLogic's Smac mimetics, with others including the US, Australia, Singapore and South Africa. Other patent applications for the biotechnology are pending across the world.

Birinapant works by selectively targeting Inhibitor of Apoptosis (IAP) Proteins, which are fundamental to causing cancer as they suppress apoptotic cell death and allow it to continue replication after it has become cancerous.
Clinical studies to date show that the treatment has been well-tolerated and effective in anti-cancer activity, although it has a long way to go in terms of clinical trials.