Brussels, Liège, February 20, 2023. Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) and its spin-off ABSCINT announce today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”) has provided a Notice of Allowance for patent application No. 16/827,032, entitled “Radio-labelled antibody fragments for use in the prognosis and diagnosis of cancer as well as for the prediction of cancer therapy response”, which includes claims that cover diagnostic applications of single-domain antibodies against HER2 labelled with radioisotopes for PET/CT imaging (the “Patent”). The technology of ABSCINT, a VUB spin-off, is based on the joint research efforts of the teams of Prof. Dr. Tony Lahoutte at the VUB and Prof. Dr. Jo Van Ginderachter at the VIB-VUB Center for Inflammation Research. ABSCINT is supported by Noshaq, Qbic, UZ Brussel, Kazoku and Trasis and additional private investors.
A Notice of Allowance is issued after the USPTO has examined the patent application and has decided it is allowed for issuance as a patent, which is expected to be granted in the coming months.
ABSCINT has licensed the patent for diagnostic applications from the VUB. ABSCINT accelerates the development of an HER2-targeted diagnostic for in vivo imaging in patients suffering from cancer. The company has another clinical stage program in the cardiovascular field.
Innovative HER2 diagnostic
ABSCINT is pleased with this notice of allowance in the US, which confirms the innovative character of this in vivo diagnostic application. This decision is yet another milestone to giving patients worldwide access to innovative diagnostics, ultimately aimed at improving patient outcomes.
Experienced management team
ABSCINT has set up its operations in Liège, Belgium and is led by Karine Clauwaert as CEO. The management team of ABSCINT holds strong industry experience and expertise in the production of single domain antibodies, development, and production of drug products and of radiopharmaceuticals.
Karine Clauwaert (CEO ABSCINT): “This US Notice of Allowance of the Patent Application is a key intellectual property milestone as it strengthens our commercial opportunities with respect to the in vivo imaging field in oncology. We are focused on advancing our HER2 diagnostic to better characterize tumors and to help patients suffering from cancer. Indeed, it is our ambition that, once the type of cancer confirmed, our diagnostic will enable the selection of the most appropriate therapy and allow a better monitoring of treatment response.
85 % of all breast cancer patients could benefit from our technology (whole-body imaging) as a result of a more global and sensitive tumor characterization. The potential confirmation of the HER2 status would lead to the selection of the most appropriate treatment, which would ultimately improve the chance of complete remission.”
For more information, please contact:
Karine Clauwaert, CEO ABSCINT
karine.clauwaert@abscint.com
