PRESS RELEASE
Immunocore strengthens IP position in the field of TCR-based therapeutics
Notice of Allowance received from US patent and trademark office relating to ImmTAC® platform
(Oxford, UK and Conshohocken, US, 5 September 2018) Immunocore Limited, a leading T Cell Receptor (TCR) biotechnology company focused on delivering first-in-class biological therapies that have the potential to transform the lives of people with serious diseases, today announces that it has received a Notice of Allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for US Patent Application No. 13/319597. The allowed claims cover the optimal format for TCR-based T cell redirectors and will provide broad protection for the Company’s novel ImmTAC platform. The grant of this U.S. patent will complete broad patent protection for the ImmTAC platform in the US and adds to equivalent patent protection already obtained in other major territories including Europe and China. ImmTAC molecules are the first T cell redirectors to have demonstrated a durable response and robust overall survival rate in patients with solid tumours.
Commenting on the announcement, Andrew Hotchkiss, Chief Executive Officer at Immunocore, said: "We are delighted that the USPTO has issued this Notice of Allowance, which will provide protection of our proprietary platform technology in the US until 2030. Together with other granted and pending patents, the Notice of Allowance cements the Company’s position as a leader in soluble TCR-based therapeutics.”
Bent Jakobsen, Chief Scientific Officer at Immunocore and co-inventor of the technology, added: “The allowance of this patent application further exemplifies the Company’s world-leading science and innovation in the design of potent TCR-based biologics able to address some of the most difficult-to-treat tumours.”
Immunocore’s extensive IP portfolio provides broad protection for the ImmTAC platform and serves to underpin the Company’s expanding pipeline of TCR-based biologics for the treatment of cancer and other serious diseases. The first ImmTAC to reach the clinic, IMCgp100 is in pivotal trials for the treatment of metastatic uveal melanoma, and a second ImmTAC molecule, IMCnyeso has recently commenced clinical testing for the treatment of various solid tumours.
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For more information, please contact:
Immunocore
Andrew Hotchkiss, CEO
T: +44 (0)1235 438600
E: info@immunocore.com
Follow on Twitter: @Immunocore
Consilium Strategic Communications
Mary-Jane Elliott/Jessica Hodgson/Chris Welsh/Laura Thornton
T: +44 (0)203 709 5700
E: Immunocore@consilium-comms.com
Follow on Twitter: @ConsiliumHC
Notes for editors
About Immunocore
Immunocore, a leading T Cell Receptor (TCR) biotechnology company, is focused on delivering first-in-class biological therapies that have the potential to transform the lives of people with serious diseases. The Company’s primary therapeutic focus is oncology and it also has programs in infectious and autoimmune diseases. Immunocore has a pipeline of proprietary and partnered programs in development and the lead program, IMCgp100, has entered pivotal clinical studies as a treatment for patients with metastatic uveal melanoma. Collaboration partners include Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, AstraZeneca, Lilly, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Immunocore is headquartered at Milton Park, Oxfordshire, UK, with an office outside Philadelphia, USA. The Company is privately held by a broad international investor base. For more information, please visit www.immunocore.com.
About ImmTAC® Molecules
Immunocore’s proprietary TCR (T Cell Receptor) technology generates a novel class of bi-specific biologics called ImmTAC (Immune mobilising monoclonal TCRs Against Cancer) molecules that enable the immune system to recognise and kill cancerous cells. ImmTAC molecules are based on soluble TCRs engineered to recognise intracellular cancer antigens with ultra-high affinity and selectively kill cancer cells via an anti-CD3 immune-redirecting effector function. ImmTAC molecules can access up to nine-fold more target antigens than typical antibody-based approaches, including monoclonal antibodies. Based on the demonstrated mechanism of T cell infiltration into human tumours, the ImmTAC mechanism of action holds the potential to tackle solid “cold” low mutation rate tumours, the majority of tumours that do not adequately respond to currently available immunotherapies.