Inovio acquires patents to augment estate for electroporation-assisted DNA delivery

By E. Janene Geiss

Philadelphia, May 15 - Inovio Biomedical Corp. said Monday that it has acquired, under a license with Sphergen sarl, rights to several patent families relating to the use of electroporation technology.

The rights Inovio has licensed include two patents with broad claims regarding electroporation of nucleic acids in muscle (U.S. Patent No. 6,939,862) and tumor tissue (U.S. Patent No. 6,528,315), according to a company news release.

This intellectual property acquisition enhances the breadth of Inovio's patent portfolio directed to the use of electroporation technology to deliver therapeutic biopharmaceuticals, officials said.

The license also includes grants of rights to know how, future improvements and provisions for exclusivity in applications to human medicine.

Inovio said its seminal 1993 patent for electroporation, U.S. Patent No. 5,273,525, was pioneering with respect to the use of needle electrodes for gene and drug delivery in human applications, including DNA vaccination in muscle and other tissues.

Inovio said it has since continued to expand its position by acquiring additional patents covering electroporation-assisted delivery of genes in muscle tissue, which is now being studied as a primary target tissue for delivering DNA-based therapies.

Considering the license with Sphergen, Inovio said it not only controls more U.S. patents dealing with electroporation but also the broadest claim set for the major wave forms and voltage conditions shown so far to be critical to operating in the field of DNA delivery in muscle, tumor and other human tissues.

Inovio also said its patent acquisitions are increasing the enforceable life of its patented technology.

Based on the potential use of electroporation technology as a cancer therapy, control over these patents is providing Inovio and its partners with the latitude to develop and use electroporation-assisted delivery methodologies with optimal performance, selectivity and medical benefit for a wide array of potential DNA-based therapeutics, officials said.

Sphergen, based in Evry Genopole, France, is a biotechnology company dedicated to research and development of gene delivery technology for companion animal and livestock applications.

Inovio is a San Diego biomedical company focused on commercializing its proprietary Selective Electrochemical Tumor Ablation therapy.

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