Genprex Receives Notice of Patent Grant for Korean Patent Claiming Reqorsa® Immunogene Therapy with PD-1 and PD-L1 Antibodies to Treat Cancers

 

Source:  Genprex, Inc. 3/12/2024

Expands on the previously granted patents covering the use of REQORSA in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors applicable to Genprex's Acclaim-2 and Acclaim-3 clinical trials

Genprex, Inc. ("Genprex" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: GNPX), a clinical-stage gene therapy company focused on developing life-changing therapies for patients with cancer and diabetes, today announced that the Korean Patent Office has issued a Notice of Patent Grant for a broad patent that covers the use of Genprex's lead drug candidate, Reqorsa® Immunogene Therapy, in combination with anti-PD-1 and PD-L1 antibodies through 2037.

This patent will expand on the previously granted patents in the U.S., Japan, Mexico, Russia, Australia, Chile and China to cover the use of REQORSA in combination with immune checkpoint inhibitors, e.g., PD-1 and PD-L1 inhibitors. These patents are applicable to Genprex's Acclaim-2 and Acclaim-3 clinical trials.

"We continue to secure exclusivity for our drug combinations of REQORSA with PD-1 antibodies, such as Keytruda® and PD-L1 antibodies, such as Tecentriq®, for the treatment of cancer in some of the largest markets," said Thomas Gallagher, Esq., Senior Vice President of Intellectual Property and Licensing at Genprex. "It is important that we continue to add to our global intellectual property estate and to build protection around our drug combinations as we advance REQORSA through the clinic."

The Acclaim-2 study is a Phase 1/2 clinical trial that has three portions - a Phase 1 dose escalation portion, a Phase 2a expansion portion, and a Phase 2b randomized portion. The Acclaim-2 trial uses a combination of REQORSA and Merck & Co.'s Keytruda® in patients with late-stage non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) whose disease has progressed after treatment with Keytruda. Patients are treated at the 0.06 mg/kg dose level in the first cohort of patients and, subject to the Acclaim-2 SRC approval, will be treated at successive dose levels of 0.09 mg/kg and 0.12 mg/kg. Genprex expects to complete enrollment in the Phase 1 dose escalation portion of the Acclaim-2 study in the second half of 2024. Genprex was granted FDA Fast Track Designation for the Acclaim-2 patient population.

The Acclaim-3 study has two portions - a Phase 1 dose escalation portion and a Phase 2 expansion portion. In November 2022 Genprex filed with the FDA the protocol for the Phase 1/2 Acclaim-3 clinical trial using a combination of REQORSA and Genentech's Tecentriq® as maintenance therapy for patients with extensive stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC) who develop tumor progression after receiving Tecentriq and chemotherapy as initial standard treatment. Patients will be treated with REQORSA and Tecentriq until disease progression or unacceptable toxicity is experienced. The Phase 1 portion of the Acclaim-3 study is open for enrollment, and Genprex expects to complete the Phase 1 portion of the study by the second half of 2024. Genprex was granted FDA Fast Track Designation and Orphan Drug Designation for the Acclaim-3 patient population.

About Genprex, Inc.
Genprex, Inc. is a clinical-stage gene therapy company focused on developing life-changing therapies for patients with cancer and diabetes. Genprex's technologies are designed to administer disease-fighting genes to provide new therapies for large patient populations with cancer and diabetes who currently have limited treatment options. Genprex works with world-class institutions and collaborators to develop drug candidates to further its pipeline of gene therapies in order to provide novel treatment approaches. Genprex's oncology program utilizes its systemic, non-viral Oncoprex® Delivery System which encapsulates the gene-expressing plasmids using lipid nanoparticles. The resultant product is administered intravenously, where it is taken up by tumor cells that then express tumor suppressor proteins that were deficient in the tumor. The Company's lead product candidate, Reqorsa® Immunogene Therapy (quaratusugene ozeplasmid), is being evaluated in three clinical trials as a treatment for NSCLC and SCLC. Each of Genprex's three lung cancer clinical programs has received a Fast Track Designation from the FDA for the treatment of that patient population, and Genprex's SCLC program has received an FDA Orphan Drug Designation. Genprex's diabetes gene therapy approach is comprised of a novel infusion process that uses an AAV vector to deliver Pdx1 and MafA genes directly to the pancreas. In models of Type 1 diabetes, GPX-002 transforms alpha cells in the pancreas into functional beta-like cells, which can produce insulin but may be distinct enough from beta cells to evade the body's immune system. In a similar approach, GPX-003 for Type 2 diabetes, where autoimmunity is not at play, is believed to rejuvenate and replenish exhausted beta cells.