South Korea has granted Anixa Biosciences a patent for its breast cancer vaccine, the San Jose company said on June 29. The Korean Ministry of Intellectual Property issued Patent Number 10-2960889, which shields the vaccine in that country through 2040.
It is a composition-of-matter patent, and Anixa holds the rights under an exclusive license from Cleveland Clinic, where the vaccine was developed. The company, listed on Nasdaq as ANIX, calls it the first Korean patent for the product. Anixa says no vaccine to prevent breast cancer has been approved anywhere in the world.
Chairman and CEO Dr. Amit Kumar presented the grant as one more brick in a larger wall. “Each global patent we secure deepens the global foundation we are building for our breast cancer vaccine,” he said. Clinical work continues in the United States, Kumar added, and a wider set of foreign patents could help Anixa “potentially partner with larger pharmaceutical companies for worldwide commercialization.”
Why South Korea
Anixa’s own account of the market is brief. Survival from breast cancer in South Korea is high, the company said, but the number of new cases has been climbing fast. Unlike in Western countries, it said, the disease tends to strike earlier in life. Anixa argues that this raises the need for preventive options there. That is the company’s reading, not an independent assessment.
The Korean patent joins existing Anixa patents in the United States and other international markets. The company says broader protection improves its footing when it pursues future regulatory approvals, partnerships and commercial deals. Its announcement gave no plans for trials in South Korea.
What the vaccine does
The vaccine immunizes against human alpha-lactalbumin, a protein linked to lactation that turns up abnormally in some breast cancers. Anixa and Cleveland Clinic call this a “retired” protein approach. The idea is to train the immune system to head off tumors while leaving healthy tissue alone, including in aggressive disease such as triple-negative breast cancer.
Kumar pointed to results from a recently completed Phase 1 trial at Cleveland Clinic. In that study, he said, the vaccine met all major primary endpoints, was safe and well tolerated, and produced immune responses in 74% of participants. Those figures come from the company.
Anixa also develops lira-cel, an ovarian cancer immunotherapy built with Moffitt Cancer Center, and says its vaccine platform is aimed at lung, colon and prostate cancers as well. Cleveland Clinic is entitled to royalties and other revenue from the vaccine technologies.
Sources
- Anixa Biosciences Granted First Korean Patent for its Breast Cancer Vaccine, Extending Global Protection Through 2040
- Anixa Biosciences Granted First Korean Patent for its Breast Cancer Vaccine, Extending Global Protection Through 2040
