Cantargia AB’s patent application for IL1RAP as target molecule for antibody-based therapies and diagnostics of solid tumours has been approved by the Japan Patent Office (JPO).

The patent approval (patent no. 5940093) refers to the company’s method of using IL1RAP as target molecule for treatment of the vast majority of solid tumours. The approved patent includes those diseases which Cantargia has chosen to focus its initial development activities on, i.e. lung cancer and pancreatic cancer, as well as other major diseases such as breast cancer, colorectal cancer and prostate cancer. The patent’s validity extends to 2032. The patent also provides protection for several different antibody-drug conjugates targeted to IL1RAP and for associated diagnostic methods.

“The approval of the patent is of great strategic significance for Cantargia and the future commercialisation of our CAN04 product candidate”, CEO Göran Forsberg says. “Having received approval in Japan, we now have protection for treatment of solid tumours in both Europe and Japan, which are two of the largest pharmaceutical markets”.