Cantargia reports third party appeal against EPO decision in favor of Cantargia patent

Cantargia AB today reported that a third party has filed a Notice of Appeal after their previous unsuccessful attempt to challenge the validity of one of Cantargia’s European patents. The appeal concerns the decision by the Opposition Division of the European Patent Office (EPO) to reject the opposition of Cantargia’s patent, EP 3020730, for treatment of solid tumors by IL1RAP-targeting antibody. This patent is part of Cantargia’s robust IP portfolio and as it is based on a divisional application, the parent patent is not subject of the appeal.

“As Cantargia is reporting new results supporting the commercial value of IL1RAP-targeted antibody treatment of cancer, we have noted increased activity from potential competitors. Based on previous unsuccessful attempts to invalidate our patent portfolio around IL1RAP, and the clear decision by the European Patent Office, we anticipate the appeal to be groundless.” said Göran Forsberg, CEO of Cantargia.

An opposition was previously filed by a third party, MAB Discovery GmbH, against one of Cantargia’s European patents, EP 3020730, which provides a broad protection for treatment of IL1RAP-expressing solid tumors by anti-IL1RAP antibody until at least 2032. As communicated on 30 September 2021, the Opposition Division at the EPO decided to reject this opposition and maintain the validity of Cantargia’s patent.

Cantargia today reported that MAB Discovery has filed a Notice of Appeal against the Opposition Division’s decision to reject the opposition on EP 3020730. Following the Notice, MAB Discovery is to submit its detailed Grounds of Appeal within two months. The appeal process has an expected duration of 2-3 years. It should be noted that Cantargia’s other European patents, or similar patents outside Europe, are not challenged by this action.

Cantargia has extensive patent protection for IL1RAP-targeting antibodies and their use in therapy and diagnostics of cancer, including leukemias and solid tumors. Cantargia’s patent portfolio includes over 100 patents globally, granted in key commercial territories such as the US, Europe, Japan and China.

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

This is information that Cantargia AB is obliged to make public pursuant to the EU Market Abuse Regulation. The information was submitted for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, at 14.30 CET on 19 January 2022.

About Cantargia
Cantargia AB (publ), reg. no. 556791-6019, is a biotechnology company that develops antibody-based treatments for life-threatening diseases and has established a platform based on the protein IL1RAP, involved in a number of cancer forms and inflammatory diseases. The main project, the antibody nadunolimab, is being studied clinically in combination with chemotherapy or immune therapy with a primary focus on non-small cell lung cancer and pancreatic cancer. Positive interim data from the combination with chemotherapy indicate stronger efficacy than would be expected from chemotherapy alone. Cantargia’s second project, the antibody CAN10, addresses treatment of serious autoimmune/inflammatory diseases, with initial focus on systemic sclerosis and myocarditis.

Cantargia is listed on Nasdaq Stockholm (ticker: CANTA). More information about Cantargia is available at www.cantargia.com.

About nadunolimab (CAN04)
The antibody CAN04 binds strongly to its target IL1RAP and functions by inducing ADCC and blocking IL-1α and IL-1β signaling. Thereby, CAN04 can counteract the contribution of the IL-1 system to the immune suppressive tumor microenvironment and development of resistance to chemotherapy. CAN04 is investigated in multiple ongoing clinical trials. In the phase I/IIa study CANFOUR, first line combination therapy is investigated with standard chemotherapies in patients with PDAC (gemcitabine/nab-paclitaxel) and patients with NSCLC (cisplatin/gemcitabine) (NCT03267316). Positive interim data for the combination therapies show durable responses or pseudoprogression in patients with PDAC, resulting in median iPFS of 7.2 months and median survival of 12.7 months. Stronger efficacy was also observed in NSCLC patients with median PFS of 7.2 months. A response rate of 53% was observed in non-squamous NSCLC patients, with even higher responses in patients previously treated with pembrolizumab. These results show stronger efficacy than expected from chemotherapy alone. CAN04 is investigated with chemotherapy also in the phase I study CAPAFOUR, with the FOLFIRINOX regimen for first line treatment of metastatic PDAC (NCT04990037), and in two further clinical studies, CESTAFOUR (NCT05116891) and TRIFOUR (NCT05181462), in additional forms of cancer, including biliary tact cancer, colorectal cancer and triple negative breast cancer. CAN04 is also evaluated with the immune checkpoint inhibitor pembrolizumab, with or without chemotherapy, in the phase I study CIRIFOUR (NCT04452214).

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