iBio Receives US and European Patents for Protein Expression Technology
NEWARK, DE -- (Marketwired) -- 02/12/15 -- iBio, Inc. (NYSE MKT: IBIO), a leader in plant-based biotechnology for developing and manufacturing biological products, today announced the issuance of additional patents in the US and Europe covering novel plant viral vector-based protein expression technologies.
"These patents strengthen patent protection for commercial activities we are engaged in to improve the yield and functional properties of antibody products," stated Robert Erwin, iBio's president. "Some product candidates are intended to address opportunities in Brazil and we expect to commercialize those via our subsidiary company, iBio do Brasil Biofarmaceutical Ltda., while others are expected to be of interest to commercial partners in the U.S., Europe, and/or Japan."
U.S. patent (Serial No. 8,951,791) and European patent (Serial No. 2192172) are entitled "System for Expression of Genes in Plants," and include claims to methods for expressing one or more polynucleotides of interest using a set of plant viral vectors that function together. The polynucleotides of interest can include, for example, those encoding therapeutic proteins, one or more antibody chains, nutritionally relevant proteins, and polynucleotides that provide a template for transcription of an active RNA species. These patents join the company's previously issued US patents, 7,491,509, 7,683,238, 7,692,063, 8,058,511, and 8,597,942 for the plant viral vector expression technology.
About iBio, Inc.
iBio is developing a proprietary product, IBIO-CFB03, for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, systemic sclerosis, and other fibrotic diseases using its iBioLaunch™ gene expression platform. The company also offers proprietary products and product licenses to others, based on its proprietary iBioLaunch™ gene expression and iBioModulator™ thermostable immunomodulator protein platforms, providing collaborators full support for turn-key implementation of its technology for protein therapeutics and vaccines. In Brazil, iBio has formed a subsidiary company, iBio do Brasil Biofarmaceutical Ltda., and has been collaborating with the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) since 2011 to develop a recombinant yellow fever vaccine based on iBio technology.
The iBioLaunch™ gene expression platform is a proprietary, transformative technology for development and production of biologics using transient gene expression in unmodified green plants. The iBioModulator™ platform is complementary to the iBioLaunch™ gene expression platform and is designed to significantly improve vaccine products with both higher potency and greater duration of effect. Further information is available at: www.ibioinc.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
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Source: iBio, Inc.
Released February 12, 2015