Press release

Jan 22, 2018  ·  Regulatory information

European Patent Office cancels oral opposition proceedings concerning Cantargia’s patent for hematological cancers

In the ongoing opposition proceedings at the European Patent Office (“EPO”) concerning Cantargia AB’s (“Cantargia”) patent for antibody treatment against IL1RAP in hematological cancers, EPO has informed the company that the oral proceedings that were due to take place on 8 February 2018 have been cancelled. 

Cantargia has two patent families covering IL1RAP as a target for antibody treatment of cancer. In June 2016, a third party filed an opposition against Cantargia’s European patent no. EP 2467403 for antibody treatment against the target IL1RAP on hematological cancers. Opposition proceedings are common in high-tech industries and follow a set of formal rules. Following EPO’s preliminary examination report, in which the inventive merit of Cantargia’s  antibody treatment of hematological cancers was recognised, the opponent decided not to take part in the oral proceedings which had been scheduled for 8 February 2018. The EPO has now decided to cancel the oral proceedings and will issue a formal written decision. Based on current legislation and practice, Cantargia’s patent protection in Europe for antibody treatment against IL1RAP in hematological cancers, such as various forms of leukemia, is therefore expected to remain essentially unchanged.

“Similarly to the parallel opposition against our granted patent for solid tumors, new arguments against our approved patent in hematological cancers were not identified and we are now awaiting the final decision”, Göran Forsberg, Cantargia’s CEO, says.

For further information, please contact

Göran Forsberg, CEO
Telephone: +46 (0)46-275 62 60
E-mail: goran.forsberg@cantargia.com

This constitutes information which Cantargia is required to publish under the EU’s Market Abuse Regulation and the Swedish Securities Market Act. The information was submitted for publication through the above contact person on 22 January 2018, at 11:00.

About Cantargia

Cantargia AB (publ), reg.no. 556791-6019, is a biotech company that is developing antibody-based treatments for life-threatening diseases. The original discovery by the research team behind Cantargia was the overexpression of a specific target molecule, interleukin 1 receptor accessory protein (IL1RAP) in leukemic stem cells. Subsequent research has also identified IL1RAP in many other forms of cancer. The company’s main project, the CAN04 antibody targeted at IL1RAP, is being studied in the CANFOUR clinical phase I/IIa study, where the primary focus is on non-small cell lung cancer and pancreatic cancer. CAN04 has two modes of action: it blocks the function of IL1RAP and stimulates the immune system to destroy tumour cells. Cantargia’s second project, currently in the research phase, is aimed at developing an IL1RAP-binding antibody that is optimised for treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases.

Cantargia is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm First North (ticker: CANTA). Sedermera Fondkommission is the company’s Certified Adviser. More information about Cantargia is available at http://www.cantargia.com.


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