Ilya Pharma has announced that the European Patent Office has issued the company European Patent titled “Methods for Wound Healing”.

The patent covers the use of the lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillus reuteri, which have been transformed with a plasmid capable of expressing a wound healing protein selected from CXCL12, CXCL17 and Ym1 to heal cutaneous wounds in humans and animals. These claims protect inventions which are central to the company’s programs for treating human and animal wounds and follow the recent award of a related US patent, further strengthening the company’s robust patent portfolio.

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“We are delighted to have received this European patent so rapidly after the US one to strengthen our patent portfolio. Our clinical program is advancing rapidly with top line results from our recently completed Phase I study in skin wounds due shortly, and we will also commence an IBD program which features two gene therapy candidates ILP100 and ILP101. We also believe that this patent further supports the recognition of the therapeutic utility of genetically modified bacteria in the “bugs for drugs” debate,” says CEO and Co-Founder Evelina Vågesjö.

Photo of Evelina Vågesjö: Jenny Öhman/Nordic Life Science