Patent Protects Development of Drugs to Treat Inflammatory Disorders

New drugs for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis and other chronic inflammatory disorders are likely to result from the granting of a U.S. patent for an antibody method for inhibiting the proliferation of proinflammatory white blood cells.

The innovation behind the patent originated at the University of Melbourne (Australia), while commercialization is to be through an exclusive license to MorphoSys AG (Martinried, Germany).

The patent is designed to protect methods of ameliorating the effects of inflammation by administering to a patient an antibody directed against GM-CSF. GM-CSF (granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor) is a human cytokine that stimulates stem cells to produce granulocytes and macrophages and subsequently activates these differentiated immune cells. The action of GM-CSF leads to increased production of proinflammatory cytokines, chemokines, and proteases and thereby triggers the autoimmune damage seen in diseases such as psoriasis, multiple sclerosis (MS), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, and especially rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

The patented method is based on neutralizing GM-CSF with the human-based antibody MOR103, which reduces undesired proliferation and activation of inflammatory granulocytes and macrophages and intervenes in several pathological pathways.

"This new patent provides us with broad protection for our proprietary antibody program MOR103 in the United States, which is by far the largest market for RA drugs,” said Dr. Simon Moroney, CEO of MorphoSys AG. "Our patent portfolio around this promising antibody-based program now extends beyond the specific MOR103 lead antibody, itself, and we anticipate that MOR103 will find application in other inflammatory disorders as well.”

Related Links:
University of Melbourne
MorphoSys AG