D&D Pharmatech (347850.KQ) has secured an additional U.S. patent for its fibroblast activation protein (FAP)-targeting radiopharmaceutical platform under development. The company has strengthened intellectual property (IP) across the entire platform, including candidates that have entered the clinical stage, while also broadening its foundation for global commercialization.
D&D Pharmatech said Monday that the registration of a new U.S. patent related to its FAP-targeting radiopharmaceutical platform had been decided. The patent covers a new class of compounds with an improved binding structure compared with the company's existing original patent. It is a composition-and-use patent that broadly protects FAP-targeting radiopharmaceutical substances and their applications in imaging diagnosis and treatment of various solid tumors.
The patent also further strengthens the platform's patent competitiveness, including PMI07, a FAP-targeting positron emission tomography (PET) contrast agent candidate currently in clinical development.
FAP is a protein overexpressed in cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) present in the tumor microenvironment of various solid tumors. CAFs are known to accumulate around cancer cells, blocking the infiltration of immune cells and creating an immunosuppressive environment. For this reason, global pharmaceutical and biotech companies are also accelerating the development of radiopharmaceuticals using FAP.
The patent is based on technology first filed by Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in the United States. D&D Pharmatech secured global exclusive rights to the technology through a licensing agreement in 2020.
The platform can be applied not only to diagnostic isotopes such as fluorine-18 (¹⁸F) and gallium-68 (⁶⁸Ga) but also to therapeutic radioisotopes such as lutetium-177 (¹⁷⁷Lu), actinium-225 (²²⁵Ac) and astatine-211 (²¹¹At). Its structure can be expanded into "theranostics" radiopharmaceuticals that link cancer diagnosis and treatment through a single platform.
D&D Pharmatech transferred PMI07 in 2021 to Blue Earth Diagnostics (BED), a subsidiary of global imaging diagnostics company Bracco. Phase 1 and 2 clinical trials are currently underway at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center (UTSW), targeting more than 70 patients with various solid tumors, including colorectal, pancreatic and stomach cancers.
"This U.S. patent registration is significant in that it strengthens the intellectual property of core FAP-targeting radiopharmaceutical substances that have entered the clinical stage," said Lee Seul-gi, CEO of D&D Pharmatech. "Based on our platform competitiveness spanning diagnosis and treatment, we will continue to expand global research and development and partnerships."
