SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 21, 2010 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Five Prime Therapeutics, Inc. today announced it has been issued two patents, U.S. Patent No. 7,678,890 and European Patent No.1910542B1, with claims covering various engineered Fibroblast Growth Factor Receptor ("FGFR") fusion proteins, including composition of matter claims for its lead oncology product, FP-1039. FivePrime engineered FGFR extracellular domains fused to a portion of an antibody and has developed one of those molecules, FP-1039, into a cancer drug currently in clinical trials. The patents protect FP-1039 in the United States and Europe, the two largest pharmaceutical markets, until at least 2026, with the possibility of up to five additional years of patent term if extended. The claims in the European patent are directed not only to these engineered proteins, but also to pharmaceutical preparations of such proteins, combinations of those proteins with other anti-cancer medications, nucleic acid molecules encoding such proteins, and cells producing the proteins.
"We are pleased to be adding these patents to our growing intellectual property portfolio," commented Bart Wise, vice president of intellectual property at FivePrime. "These two new patents add to the proprietary coverage of FP-1039 already provided by broad patents in the FGFR area that FivePrime has exclusively licensed."
About FivePrime
Five Prime Therapeutics, Inc. is a clinical-stage, privately-held, biotechnology company discovering and developing innovative protein and antibody therapeutics. FivePrime is currently testing FP-1039, a first-in-class biologic, in a Phase I study for patients with solid tumors and a Phase II trial in mutant endometrial cancer will begin soon. Using its world-class biologics discovery platform, FivePrime is building a strong product pipeline in oncology, immunology and metabolic diseases. Its proprietary platform integrates a unique suite of technologies to mine the entire extracellular human proteome – the complete collection of secreted proteins and receptors – for medically relevant therapeutic protein drugs. FivePrime is collaborating with Pfizer, Inc. in the fields of oncology and diabetes and GlaxoSmithKline for skeletal muscle disorders. For more information, visit www.fiveprime.com.
CONTACT: Five Prime Therapeutics, Inc. Stephanie Andrade 415-365-5719 stephanie.andrade@fiveprime.com