Canadian patent for PlantForm technology to treat snakebites
GUELPH, Ont., Jan. 29, 2019— Canada’s patent office has allowed PlantForm Corporation’s application to patent its innovative, plant-produced antidote to cobra toxin.
The application (No. 2,745,473) is part of a suite of patents, including those already granted in the United States (US patents #8465742 and #8883152, “Anti-Cobra Toxin Antibody Fragments and Method of Producing a VHH Library”) and in the European Union (EU patent #2355849, “Methods of Improving the Therapeutic Efficacy of Antibody Fragments”) and others currently under examination in Canada and India.
“This latest successful patent application adds value to the company and further demonstrates the versatility of PlantForm’s platform technology, which is capable of producing a wide variety of speciality antibody drugs, protein drugs and vaccines,” said Dr. Don Stewart, President and CEO. “We are working to advance this project by pursuing commercial partnerships in India and other South Asian markets.”
Originally developed by a team led by Dr. J. Christopher Hall at the University of Guelph, the technology is licensed to PlantForm for commercial development. The Hall lab produced the cobra toxin antibody in tobacco plants and demonstrated the therapeutic potential in a laboratory model with mice.
Snakebite is a serious global public health problem, especially in tropical and sub-tropical countries. The Thai cobra (Naja kaouthia) is considered the most venomous and dangerous snake in Southeast Asia, responsible for the most deaths and disease from snakebite. Currently, the only specific treatment is with antivenom produced in animals, usually horses, with significant potential for adverse events to the patient. The antibody also has important potential applications as a diagnostic for the toxin, which has been used as an illegal performance-enhancing agent in horse racing.
About PlantForm Corporation (www.plantformcorp.com)
PlantForm Corporation is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the rapid development and production of specialty antibody and protein drugs using the company’s proprietary vivoXPRESS® platform. The plant-based vivoXPRESS ® system makes it easier, faster and less expensive to produce approved biologic drugs for novel indications and new markets. The company’s pipeline includes trastuzumab for a novel indication in nerve regeneration; a biosimilar version of Lucentis®; biosimilar adalimumab (Humira®) through our PlantPraxis joint venture in Brazil; other biobetter drugs for niche indications; and medical countermeasures to terrorism threats such as ricin and sarin through PlantForm subsidiary AntoXa Corporation. Learn more.
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