Describing the patent protection, valid till 2037, as a major step Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of OSE Immunotherapeutics, Dr Dominique Costantini  said, “This European patent is a major step that provides products targeting CLEC-1 a strong intellectual property and a broad scope as it notably covers the use of antagonist antibodies targeting CLEC-1 in cancer treatment.”

“The patent has been extended to other major territories with the notice of allowance already granted in the United States and the patent granted in Japan,” she informed.

CLEC-1 is a C-type lectin receptor, which has demonstrated potential to inhibit the functions of myeloid cells and block anti-tumour responsiveness of T-lymphocytes and has emerged as a new therapeutic target of interest in immuno-oncology, the company informed.

“Based on our fruitful collaboration with the CR2TI research team, we now have preclinical results identifying CLEC-1 and its antagonists as an innovative immunotherapy that releases the brakes on macrophage phagocytosis and dendritic cells antigen presentation and demonstrates synergistic anti-cancer effects, in particular when combined with chemotherapy,” Dr Nicolas Poirier, the Chief Scientific Officer of OSE Immunotherapeutics said.

“The latest preclinical efficacy data open the pathway for the development of monoclonal antagonist antibodies targeting new myeloid checkpoint inhibitor target CLEC-1, and for future translational clinical development of an innovative cancer immunotherapy,” he added.