Prosensa receives notice of allowance for key patent related to lead compound in development for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy

Leiden, The Netherlands, August 17, 2009 – Prosensa, the Dutch based biopharmaceutical company focusing on RNA modulating therapeutics announces that it has received notice of allowance for a US patent protecting the composition of matter of its lead compound PRO-051.

The US patent entitled “Modulation of exon recognition in pre-mRNA by interfering with the secondary RNA structure” describes and claims a group of oligonucleotides that can be used for targeted modulation of pre-mRNA, a method to restore genetic defects in the dystrophin gene of patients with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD). The claimed oligonucleotides form the basis of PRO-051, Prosensa’s lead compound for the treatment of DMD which is in advanced phase II development. The company also enjoys protection for PRO-051 in many other regions, amongst which Europe. Recently, a Request for Opinion on the validity of the UK patent originating from a granted European patent was filed by a third party at the UK patent office. The UK patent office confirmed the validity of this UK patent, thereby confirming the decision of the European Patent office to grant said European patent.

This US patent is part of a portfolio of patents that was exclusively licensed from the Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC, Leiden, the Netherlands). The first inventor and current Director Discovery at Prosensa, Dr. Judith van Deutekom, was former head of the DMD Genetic Therapy group at LUMC and one of the pioneers in the development of genetic therapies for muscular dystrophies.

“This patent family sits at the core of our exon skipping technology platform and the notice of allowance of this patent significantly strengthens our proprietary position in this field. Moreover, the speed in which the US Patent Office has granted our patent application points to the clear and undisputed novelty an inventiveness of our products and is a further example of the pioneering nature of our technology.” comments Dr. van Deutekom. “We will continue to broadly file patent applications to build a strong intellectual property portfolio around our proprietary technology and to further strengthen our leadership position in this emerging field of RNA-based therapeutics.”

“I’m extremely pleased with the notice of allowance for this US patent as it provides us with a broad protection for our lead therapeutic candidate PRO-051. It confirms our leadership position in the field and we will continue to diligently develop the product in order to hopefully bring a solution to patients in a timely manner” said Hans Schikan, Chief Executive Officer of Prosensa.

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