Isis Gains Patents For Novel Antisense Chemistry

Isis Pharmaceuticals, based in California, USA, has received notices of allowance for four US patents, two of which cover novel purine modifications that are used in the company's antisense oligonucleotide drugs. A third notice of allowance covers two chiral forms of the ISIS 2105 compound which will be useful in enhancing the drug properties of future generations of antisense compounds.

In addition to the composition of matter notice Isis received in April on ISIS 2105, as well as the one on ISIS 2922, this notice further solidifies Isis' ownership of ISIS 2105, one of the company's leading antisense drug opportunities, it says.

The fourth notice covers a novel method for large-scale production of an important manufacturing intermediate used in antisense oligonucleotide chemical synthesis. Isis is currently manufacturing all of its own compounds for both research and clinical development. The company is developing a significant proprietary position and expertise in large-scale synthesis, analysis and purification of antisense oligonucleotides, it claims.