Sareum to get US patent on SDC-1802 programme

Specialist drug development company Sareum announced on Thursday that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a notice of allowance for a patent on an invention associated with its proprietary ‘SDC-1802 TYK2/JAK1 Kinase Inhibitor Programme’.

The AIM-traded firm said the programme was in preclinical development, targeting cancer and cancer immunotherapy.

It said the patent, application number 16/351,620, would protect the SDC-1802 molecule and pharmaceutical preparations of it.

Subject to certain formalities being completed, the company said it expected that the patent would be granted within three months.

Following the grant of the patent, Sareum would have approved patent protection in the US for its SDC-1802 programme, with the grant completing the patent protection for the programme across all major territories.

The board said it followed similar patent protection granted in Europe, as announced on 10 November 2014, and in Japan and China, as announced on 19 December 2017.

“The granting of this patent in the US will complete the protection of the intellectual property for our proprietary SDC-1802 programme across all major markets,” said chief scientific officer Dr John Reader.

“The board believes that the patent will enhance the value of its TYK2/JAK1 inhibitor programmes and the company's negotiating position as it continues to engage in discussions with potential licence partners.”

At 1545 BST, shares in Sareum Holdings were up 13.58% at 0.92p.