Ark gets U.S. patent for Vitor to treat muscle-wasting conditions

By Elaine Rigoli

Tampa, Fla., July 7 - Ark Therapeutics Group plc said the U.S. Patent Office has granted the company a patent covering the use of Vitor in muscle-wasting (cachexia) conditions (U.S. 7071183).

Vitor is an oral small-molecule therapy in phase 3 development for the treatment of patients with cancer cachexia, a distressing aspect of late-stage cancer.

The grant gives protection until 2018. The patent for Europe was granted in 2005.

In January, Ark announced that in the first phase 3 study, treatment with Vitor significantly reduced the rate of weight loss in patients with non-small cell lung and colorectal cancer in the 12-week study period.

Although statistical significance was not achieved in the smaller group of patients with pancreatic cancer (the more aggressive of the cancers studied) a similar magnitude of effect was seen, according to a news release.

Vitor has been awarded fast-track designation by the Food and Drug Administration.

Ark is a specialist health care group based in London.

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