Cellectar Biosciences Announces USPTO Issues Formal Patent Allowance

Cellectar Biosciences, Inc. recently announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a formal patent allowance for CLR 1603, which covers method of use for the treatment of a variety of solid tumors and associated cancer stem cells using the company’s phospholipid drug conjugate (PDC) delivery platform technology with paclitaxel. This patent allowance follows the May 2016 issuance of the composition of matter patent for the same compound.

CLR 1603 is a form of paclitaxel conjugated to the company’s patented phospholipid drug conjugate delivery platform using a simple compound linker. The USPTO patent allowance covers method of use for breast, pancreatic, lung, colorectal, and prostate cancers. The company expects the full patent to be granted by the end of 2016.

“The receipt of this formal patent allowance represents the fourth time Cellectar has secured a positive USPTO action since May 2016. These actions have expanded and strengthened our intellectual property portfolio for PDC delivery platform assets, including our lead therapeutic product candidate CLR 131 and our chemotherapeutic conjugate program assets,” said Jim Caruso, President and CEO of Cellectar. “While we continue to aggressively protect our products through strategic intellectual property achievements, we remain committed to advancing an intelligent research and development program to further optimize asset valuation.”

Cellectar’s product candidates are built upon its patented cancer cell-targeting delivery and retention platform of optimized phospholipid ether-drug conjugates (PDCs). Its phospholipid ether (PLE) carrier platform was deliberately designed to be coupled with a variety of payloads to facilitate both therapeutic and diagnostic applications. The basis for selective tumor targeting of our PDC compounds lies in the differences between the plasma membranes of cancer cells compared to those of normal cells. Cancer cell membranes are highly enriched in lipid rafts, which are glycolipoprotein microdomains of the plasma membrane of cells that contain high concentrations of cholesterol and sphingolipids, and serve to organize cell surface and intracellular signaling molecules. PDCs have been tested in over 70 different xenograft models of cancer.

Cellectar Biosciences is developing phospholipid drug conjugates (PDCs) designed to provide cancer targeted delivery of diverse oncologic payloads to a broad range of cancers and cancer stem cells. Cellectar’s PDC platform is based on the company’s proprietary phospholipid ether analogs. These novel small-molecules have demonstrated highly selective uptake and retention in a broad range of cancers. Cellectar’s PDC pipeline includes product candidates for cancer therapy and cancer diagnostic imaging. The company’s lead therapeutic PDC, CLR 131, utilizes iodine-131, a cytotoxic radioisotope, as its payload. CLR 131 is currently being evaluated under an orphan drug designated Phase I clinical study in patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma. The company is also developing PDCs for targeted delivery of chemotherapeutics, such as paclitaxel (CLR 1602-PTX), a preclinical stage product candidate, and plans to expand its PDC chemotherapeutic pipeline through both in-house and collaborative R&D efforts. For more information, visit www.cellectar.com.