Immutep has announced the grant of patent number 10,940,181 entitled “Combined Preparations for the Treatment of Cancer or Infection” by the United States Patent & Trade Mark Office (USPTO).

This United States patent was filed as a divisional application and follows the grant of the United States parent patent announced on 30 December 2020.

The claims of this new patent build on the protection provided by the parent patent, and are directed to methods of treating cancer by administering Immutep‘s lead active immunotherapy candidate eftilagimod alpha (“efti” or “IMP321”) and a PD-1 pathway inhibitor. Again, according to the claims, the PD-1 pathway inhibitor is either pembrolizumab or nivolumab. The expiry date of the patent is 20 January 2036 (including a patent term adjustment of 12 days).

“We are very pleased to add another United States patent to our expanding patent portfolio, especially in this case, because of its direct relevance to our clinical development programs. These patent grants are important as they underpin ongoing investment in clinical development of efti and allow us to confidently engage in business development discussions,” said Marc Voigt, CEO of Immutep.

A further divisonal application has been filed to pursue other aspects of the invention, including combinations where the PD-1 pathway inhibtor is a PD-L1 inhibitor.