Therapy Areas: Inflammatory Diseases
Vedanta Biosciences Key Microbiome Patent Upheld in European Opposition Proceedings
9 May 2019 - - The Opposition Division of the European Patent Office has upheld US-based clinical-stage company Vedanta Biosciences' foundational patent EP2575835, strengthening Vedanta's intellectual property position in a key area of microbiome therapeutics, the company said.

This patent is based on work by Dr. Kenya Honda, a scientific co-founder of Vedanta Biosciences, in identifying bacteria that induce significant immune responses.

The upheld patent claims broadly cover compositions of clostridial bacterial species for use in infectious and allergic disease.

Clostridial bacterial species are abundant in the gut and are of high interest for use in the development of live biotherapeutic products designed to colonise and modulate a patient's microbiome to therapeutic effect.

The Honda patent is exclusively licensed to Vedanta under an agreement with the University of Tokyo and provides coverage through at least 2031.

The Honda patent, together with additional Vedanta patents, provide the company with a leading IP position in the microbiome field.

Vedanta's patents support the company's therapeutic candidates for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, such as inflammatory bowel disease, food allergy, and infectious diseases. Vedanta's portfolio contains 20 US patents and numerous foreign issuances with coverage extending to 2037.

The Honda patent, EP2575835, was opposed by six parties: Seres Therapeutics Inc., Nestec SA (a subsidiary of Nestlé SA) as well as four anonymous parties. Minor formal claim amendments were entered during the oral proceedings.

The patent is now issued in major commercial markets, including the United States, Europe, and Japan.

Vedanta Biosciences is a clinical-stage company developing a new category of therapies for immune-mediated diseases based on rationally-defined consortia of human microbiome-derived bacteria.

Vedanta Biosciences is in the microbiome field with capabilities and deep expertise to discover, develop, and manufacture live bacteria drugs.

These include what is believed to be the largest collection of human-gut associated bacteria, a suite of proprietary assays to select pharmacologically potent strains, vast proprietary datasets from human interventional studies, and facilities for cGMP-compliant manufacturing of rationally-defined bacterial consortia in powder form.

Vedanta Biosciences' work, in collaboration with its scientific co-founders, has led to the identification of human commensal bacteria that induce a range of immune responses including induction of regulatory T cells, CD8+ T cells, and Th17 cells, among others.
Login
Username:

Password: