NextCell Pharma has announced that the Japan Patent Office (JPO) has issued a notice of allowance relating to the patent entitled “Allogeneic Composition”.

The patent describes the method of manufacturing the drug candidate ProTrans, where the selection algorithm is key for selecting optimal cells and donors.

“Japan is leading the cell therapy and stem cells field, thus protection in this region is important,” says CEO Mathias Svahn.

Patent protection is valid until 2039.

An allogeneic cell therapy

ProTrans is NextCell’s first drug candidate based on the selection algorithm. It is an allogeneic cell therapy which means that donated cells, not the patient’s own, are used. The cells are extracted from donated umbilical cord tissue and the cells are then multiplied to generate large amounts of cells.

Clinical trials in type-1 diabetes have shown promising results for ProTrans to stop the course of the disease for 1 year in adult patients, potentially longer. Ongoing trials are now evaluating efficacy in adolescents and children newly diagnosed with type-1 diabetes. In addition, clinical trials are ongoing with patients with severe pneumonia due to COVID-19 infection, in Sweden and Canada.

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