Prana Biotechnology secures key PBT2 patent in Japan and completes core IP suite

April 11th, 2011 - Patents support pipeline opportunities for PBT2 in AD and HD - Prana Biotechnology (ASX: PBT; NASDAQ: PRAN) announced that it has secured a key PBT2 patent in Japan. The Japanese Patent Office has granted a composition of matter patent for Prana’slead clinical asset, PBT2 and other selected 8-Hydroxyquinoline compounds in Japan. The patent entitled ‘8-Hydroxyquinoline derivatives’ also covers pharmaceutical compositions containing PBT2 and selected 8-hydroxyquinoline compounds and the use of the compounds for the treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease.
Geoffrey Kempler, Prana’s Executive Chairman, said “This decision by the Japanese Officeto grant a claim to PBT2 completes a suite of core patent rights protecting this asset in key markets including the United States, Europe, Japan and Australia, further bolstering our commercialization plans in both Huntington’s and Alzheimer’s Disease”.
The Japanese patent has a twenty year term expiring on 16 July 2023, with a possible extension of term of up to 5 years under pharmaceutical protectionprovisions. Importantly there is no post-grant opposition process in Japan whereby third parties can register objections following this decision. In 2010, the company announced the grant of similar claims in Europe and the decision of the United States Patent Office to extend the term of the patent granted in the United States**.
PBT2 was selected from Prana’s Metal Protein Attenuating Compound (MPAC) library as its lead development compound in Alzheimer’s Disease in 2004... [PDF] Prana’s Press Release -

Prana Biotechnology : Neuron to Publish PBT2 preclinical research

July 10, 2008 – Prana Biotechnology Ltd (NASDAQ: PRAN, ASX: PBT) announced the publication of key research findings with its lead Alzheimer's Disease drug, PBT2. The article titled “Rapid restoration of cognition in Alzheimer's transgenic mice with 8-hydroxyquinoline analogs" [full text] is associated with decreased interstitial Abeta” appears in the current edition of the prestigious scientific journal Neuron, and can be viewed online [abstract].

The key findings reported are:

- PBT2 profoundly and rapidly improved cognition in transgenic mice.
- PBT2 prevented the formation of soluble Abeta oligomers, the form of Abeta believed to be the most toxic.
- PBT2 substantially reduced the amount of all forms of Abeta in the transgenic mouse brain, over a nine week period.
- PBT2, within hours of oral administration, significantly lowered soluble (interstitial) Abeta in the brain, sampled using in vivo microdialysis.
- Using a well established model for memory formation, PBT2 protected neurons in living brain tissue from the toxic effects of Abeta which impairs the signaling between neurons in Alzheimer’s disease... Prana Biotechnology's Press Release -

Prana : PNAS Publication Describing New Class of Anti-Amyloid Drugs

May 13, 2008 - Prana Biotechnology Limited (NASDAQ: PRAN / ASX: PBT), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the research and development of treatments for neurodegenerative disorders, announced a publication in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) journal, *describing a completely new class of amyloid inhibiting drugs.
The reported drugs are directed against the amyloid present in Alzheimer’s Disease, composed of the Abeta protein. By specifically targeting and blocking the metal binding site on the Abeta protein, these drugs change the intrinsic structural properties of Abeta and its oligomers, stopping neuronal toxicity and the subsequent formation of ABeta fibrils... Prana Biotechnology's Press Release -

Prana, Phase IIa Trial of PBT2 in Alzheimer's Disease Patients

January 2, 2008 – Prana Biotechnology Limited (NASDAQ: PRAN / ASX: PBT), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the research and development of treatments for neurodegenerative disorders, today announced it has completed its Phase IIa clinical trial of PBT2 in patients with early Alzheimer's disease...This Phase IIa trial is a double blind, placebo-controlled study exploring the safety and tolerability of PBT2, Prana’s proprietary lead compound. The trial also measured PBT2’s effects on the mechanism and progression of the disease, by investigating biomarkers of Alzheimer's Disease, as well as measures of cognition...Prana's Press Release -