Last checked at 26 Sep 2011 07:00
e-Therapeutics gains patent for 'Power Behind the Throne'
26 September 2011- e-Therapeutics plc (AIM: ETX), the drug discovery and development company, announces that it has been granted a U.S. patent for a further key process in its drug discovery platform. 'Power behind the Throne' is the third platform patent granted to e-Therapeutics in the U.S. and represents an important addition to the intellectual property estate covering the Company's network pharmacology technology.
e-Therapeutics applies the science of complex systems to discover new drugs. The Company characterises the network of proteins important in a particular disease, then proceeds to identify optimal means of disrupting that network. This entails understanding the role of each protein in network terms, as a node linked to other network components. The new patent covers a process used to identify nodes that are essential to the integrity of a network but which exert their influence indirectly. This feature of indirect influence is the reason for the patent's colloquial title of 'Power behind the Throne'.
Commenting on the new patent, Professor Malcolm Young, CEO of e-Therapeutics, said: "This patent reflects the innovations we are making as we continue to develop our platform technology. Its grant coincides with the start of a major new wave of discovery activity employing our network pharmacology approach."
e-Therapeutics announced in July that it had restarted its discovery effort, with new work focused on cancer and degenerative diseases of the nervous system. At the same time the Company outlined plans for clinical development of four candidates resulting from earlier discovery projects.
Professor Young added: "We expect significant developments in the near future in two areas of our business. One is discovery, where we expect to generate new product candidates in areas of great unmet medical need. The other is development, where we look forward to the start of a cascade of clinical data from our four leading candidates."
For more information, please contact:
e-Therapeutics plc
Malcolm Young, CEO / Daniel Elger, CFO
Tel: +44 (0)191 233 1317 / +44 (0) 7909 915 068
www.etherapeutics.co.uk
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited
Andrew Burnett / Aubrey Powell
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7459 3600
www.panmure.com
College Hill
Melanie Toyne Sewell / Jayne Crook
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7457 2020
Email: e-therapeutics@collegehill.com
About e-Therapeutics
e-Therapeutics is an AIM-listed biotechnology company with a proprietary platform in network pharmacology, an innovative new approach to drug discovery based on the science of complex systems. The Company's discovery activity is focused in cancer and degenerative diseases of the nervous system and its development effort on four clinical candidates spanning cancer, psychiatric disorders and infectious diseases. e-Therapeutics is based in the UK. For more information about the Company please visit www.etherapeutics.co.uk.