Item 8.01 Other Events
The
European Patent Office in Munich, Germany Reverses Technology Patent
Challenge
The
European Patent Office (EPO) Board of Appeals in Munich, Germany has ruled in
favor of The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania and its exclusive
licensee Advaxis, Inc. (OTCBB: ADXS) and reversed a ruling that revoked a
technology patent that had resulted from an opposition filed by Anza
Therapeutics, Inc., formerly Cerus Corp (NASDAQ: CERS). The ruling of the EPO
Board of Appeal is final and can not be appealed.
The
granted claims, the subject matter of which was discovered by Dr. Yvonne
Paterson, scientific founder of Advaxis, is directed to the first use of a
recombinant bacteria expressing a tumor antigen for the treatment of patients
with cancer.
Executive
VP of Science and Operations Dr. John Rothman commented, "Following the
completion of Advaxis’ Phase I clinical trial in recurrent metastatic cervical
cancer in which the agent, Lovaxin C, was shown to be administered safely to
late stage cancer patients, as well as the FDA’s permission to conduct a Phase
II trial in the US in patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN),
the precursor condition to cervical cancer, Advaxis has again confirmed its
position as the dominant and leading company in the field of therapeutic live
attenuated bacterial vaccines."
Dr.
Paterson, a microbiologist and immunologist, created the field of
live
Listeria therapeutics at
the University of Pennsylvania. Advaxis has exclusively licensed this technology
from the University.
The
licensed patent portfolio of Advaxis contains over 79 US and international
issued patents and pending patent applications, directed to compositions,
methods and uses for therapeutic Listeria vaccines.
“This
decision confirms the innovative work and inventions of Dr. Paterson” said
Advaxis CEO and Chairman Thomas A. Moore. “Given our extensive body
of pre-clinical scientific data and our early human clinical data, we look
forward to establishing the efficacy of our technology in a variety of cancer
indications.”
About
Advaxis, Incorporated
Based in
North Brunswick, New Jersey, Advaxis is developing proprietary
Listeria monocytogenes
(Lm)
cancer vaccines based on technology developed by Dr. Yvonne Paterson, Professor
of Microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania and Chairperson of Advaxis’
Scientific Advisory Board. Advaxis is developing attenuated live Listeria-based
vaccines that deliver engineered tumor antigens, which safely stimulate
multiple simultaneous immunological mechanisms to fight cancer.
Advaxis’
lead Listeria vaccine candidate, Lovaxin-C, targets human papilloma virus
(HPV)-associated cancers such as cervical and head and neck. Current Lm vaccines
in development target prostate, breast, ovarian and other cancers. Recently,
Advaxis completed a Phase I clinical trial of Lovaxin-C. A Phase II clinical
trial is planned for patients with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia
(CIN). The Lm platform also has applications in the fields of
infectious disease and autoimmune disorders.
For
further information on the Company, please visit:
www.advaxis.com
.
