Shares in Noxopharm Ltd (ASX: NOX) are gaining today following the company's announcement of a notice of allowance for an important European patent.
At the time of writing, the Noxopharm share price is 64 cents – 7.56% higher than its previous close.
Let's take a closer look today's release from the drug development company.
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Possible European patent
Noxopharm announced it's received a notice of allowance on a key patent for its first pipeline drug candidate Veyonda.
According to Noxopharm, it's a positive sign the European Patient Office will likely grant the patent.
Currently, Veyonda is in phase 2 of clinical trialling. Noxopharm hopes Veyonda will prove to be a useful cancer treatment.
If granted, the patent will relate to the use of idronoxil, the active ingredient in Veyonda. The patent will cover a formulation designed to provide a steady-state blood level of the drug.
It will also see Noxopharm with enforceable rights to idronoxil for another 16 years.
Veyonda is expected to treat any type of cancer and be given to patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiotherapy.
According to Noxopharm, if granted, the European patent will be a good sign the drug is likely to be patented in other important territories, like the United States.
Commentary from management
Noxopharm's CEO Graham Kelly commented on the notice of allowance, saying:
This allowance is very pleasing validation of our strategy of building a strong IP position around Veyonda based on a series of inter-connected patents. The interconnection is between method of administration and clinical use and removes the reliance on the strength of any single patent.
A granted patent also will help underpin our commercial aim of Veyonda becoming a standard of care drug in combination with other major forms of cancer therapy.
Noxopharm share price snapshot
The Noxopharm share price has been performing well lately.
It's currently 30% higher than it was at the start of 2021. It's also gained 265% since this time last year.
The company has a market capitalisation of around $184 million, with approximately 288 million shares outstanding.
