Bone receives notice of allowance for Mozaic arthritis patent in US
International biopharmaceutical company Bone Medical has received notice of allowance for its in-licensed drug discovery technology Mozaic by the US Patent Office.
International biopharmaceutical company Bone Medical has received notice of allowance for its in-licensed drug discovery technology Mozaic by the US Patent Office.
Mozaic creates novel oligopeptides for the BN006 rheumatoid arthritis (RA) programme.
The Mozaic patent has already been granted in Europe to cover methods of applying the technology and the US patent protects the composition generated during the discovery process.
Like other technologies Mozaic works through bringing building blocks together to bind to biological targets. But it differs from other approaches in that the building blocks cover the surface of nanoparticles that are able to interact with cell receptors very effectively, changing behaviour in a therapeutically advantageous way.
The Mozaic technology has already proved itself in having given rise to a series of molecules that can inhibit production of TNF by macrophages and thus has potential as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis.
The current therapy of choice for RA is TNF blockade - mopping up TNF in the bloodstream using monoclonal antibodies. While this is an effective therapy it does involve costly injections and there are concerns about increased susceptibility to infectious diseases and particular cancers.
As BN006 acts only on the inflammatory cells that produce TNF its action should be more specific as an inexpensive pill option.
Bone has also used the Mozaic technology to identify structures that can up-regulate osteoblasts and down-regulate osteoclasts, showing promise as a new generation of osteoporosis treatments.