Challenge

Our client, Euclises Pharmaceuticals, discovered a novel therapeutic pathway and intervention in cancer treatment that blocks a critical enzyme to inhibit growth and survival of certain cancer cells. Harness IP was retained to development a patent platform supporting and protecting multiple aspects of the client’s discovery and development outcomes.

Solution

Drawing upon our firmwide chemical and biotech dual expertise, our team crafted broad, generic and novel claims having scope “to the perimeter of the prior art,” as noted by CAFC Judge Giles Rich. Our goal, based on the chemical/molecular and biologic aspects of the client’s therapeutic cancer treatment invention, was to secure durable, franchise protecting patents by developing a diverse suite of patent interventions, which included:

• Product and Article type SAR driven claims covering broad, generic compound per se structural diversity, embracing novel small molecule inhibitors of the critical enzyme
• Formulation and delivery system claims to enhance article type protection
• Method of Treatment claims based on a functional disease treatment mode of action, inhibitor property and enzyme expression in tumor cells
• Combination claims covering enhanced combination therapies with existing cancer treatment drugs

In addition to patent suite development, we also supported the client in their partnering and in-license initiatives. The Firm’s highly targeted and practical advice assisted the company in obtaining a worldwide license. Harness IP continues to represent the client in worldwide patent procurement for related compound and method inventions.