OSLO, Norway, Aug. 14, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Nykode Therapeutics ASA (OSE: NYKD), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel immunotherapies, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued U.S. Patent No. 12,059,459, entitled, “Therapeutic Anticancer Neoepitope Vaccine”.

The newly issued patent describes Nykode’s fully individualized neoantigen based vaccine, VB10.NEO, which is in development for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic solid tumours. The 20 year expiration date of this patent is January 5, 2037. Related patents were previously granted to the company in Russia, India, and Australia.

Michael Engsig, CEO of Nykode, said, “We are very pleased with the granting of this important patent in the U.S., a key market for Nykode. Continuously expanding our patent protection is a core strategy for us. The granting of this patent is a testament to the world-class innovation taking place in Nykode's labs. We remain dedicated to pushing the boundaries of what's possible in medicine, bringing hope to patients and their families around the globe.”

About VB10.NEO
VB10.NEO is a proprietary individualized neoantigen vaccine in development for the treatment of locally advanced or metastatic solid tumors under an exclusive, worldwide clinical collaboration with Genentech, a member of the Roche Group. The vaccine is designed to be produced on-demand according to the neoantigen profile of an individual patient. Neoantigens are proteins generated by tumor-specific mutations not present in normal tissues and are thus an attractive target for cancer immunotherapy as they may be recognized as foreign by the immune system.

Nykode is currently conducting a clinical study evaluating VB10.NEO: VB N-02, an open-label Phase 1b, dose-escalation study of the safety and antigen-specific immune responses elicited by VB10.NEO in combination with Roche’s checkpoint inhibitor atezolizumab in patients with locally advanced and metastatic tumors (NCT05018273).

About Nykode Therapeutics
Nykode Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel immunotherapies with a focus on the treatment of cancer and autoimmune diseases. Nykode’s modular vaccine technology specifically targets antigens to antigen presenting cells (APC), which have been shown to induce a broad, strong and long-lasting antigen specific immune response in cancer, which correlates with clinical responses.