Oragenics, Inc. (NYSE American: OGEN) (the “Company”), a clinical stage biotechnology company, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted Oragenics and The Texas A&M University System U.S. Patent No. 9,964,488 titled, “Variants of the Lantibiotic MU1140 and Other Lantibiotics with Improved Pharmacological Properties and Structural Features.”
Among other things, the patent covers the unique variants of the lantibiotic 1140 (MU1140) and other lantibiotics with improved pharmacological properties and structural features as well as the methods of using these compositions to treat and prevent infections, diseases, and colonization by one or more types of bacteria.
“In recent years, antibiotic resistant bacteria have been on the rise, affecting millions of people worldwide and resulting in an increasingly large burden on the healthcare system. Lantibiotics serve as an important class of antibiotics with the potential to serve in the treatment of problematic infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria, while also potentially limiting the development of drug resistance,” Alan Joslyn, chief executive officer and president of Oragenics, said. “This patent provides broad protection for unique variants of MU1140 and other lantibiotics in our library that will enter IND-enabling studies for the treatment of antibiotic resistant bacteria.”
James Smith, associate professor in the Department of Biology at Texas A&M University, said, “Healthcare-associated infections caused by multi-drug resistant pathogens have become particularly worrisome. Through our collaborative work, we are pleased that the granting of this patent will support the continued development of novel lantibiotics. We are hopeful that we are on a path towards new antibiotic treatments that have the potential to target this critical, unmet need in the medical community.”
Source: Oragenics