We received from XORTX Therapeutics Inc. and we are glad to publish the following press release:
“XORTX Therapeutics Inc. (“XORTX” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: XRTX), a late-stage clinical pharmaceutical company focused on developing innovative therapies to treat gout and progressive kidney disease, is pleased to announce that the Japan Patent Office (the “JPO”) has issued a Decision to Grant a Patent for Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-556140, entitled “Compositions, Formulations, and Containers” (the “Japanese Patent”). Once registered, the Japanese Patent will support the Company’s XRx-101 program for acute kidney injury and other acute organ injury associated with respiratory virus infections, and will be the Company’s first patent in Japan directed to its xanthine oxidase inhibitor programs.
A Decision to Grant is the JPO’s determination that the examiner has found no reasons to refuse the application. The Japanese Patent will issue upon payment of the registration fee and registration by the JPO. The application is the Japanese national phase of International Application No. PCT/IB2021/000238 and claims priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/989,879, filed March 15, 2020. The six allowed claims are directed to pharmaceutical compositions comprising a xanthine oxidase inhibitor, including oxypurinol, for the treatment or prevention of acute kidney injury and other health consequences associated with viral infection. Under Japanese patent practice, therapeutic uses are generally protected through composition claims. Once registered, the Japanese Patent is expected to remain in force until March 15, 2041, subject to the payment of annuity fees and excluding any patent term extension that may become available
“This decision is expected to provide XRx-101 with its first patent protection in Japan, one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical markets, and the allowed claims are directed to the central premise of the program – that inhibiting xanthine oxidase may attenuate injurious, rapid increases in uric acid and the acute kidney injury that can follow serious respiratory viral infection,” stated Dr. Allen Davidoff, Co-Chief Executive Officer of XORTX, who added, “Expanding our xanthine oxidase inhibitor patent estate into Japan strengthens the intellectual property position of that platform, which also includes XORLO™ for gout, and broadens the options available to the Company as it evaluates potential partnering opportunities for programs beyond XRx-026.”
Including the Japanese Patent, XORTX’s portfolio includes seven granted or allowed patents and 14 pending patent applications in the United States, Europe and Japan covering compositions and uses of xanthine oxidase inhibitors for gout, the health consequences of hyperuricemia, progressive kidney disease and acute kidney injury, together with approximately 30 patents acquired with the VB4-P5 renal anti-fibrotic program. The Company has not entered into any partnering, licensing or other agreement with any party regarding XRx-101, and there can be no assurance that it will enter into any such agreement on acceptable terms, or at all. XORTX looks forward to providing further updates as it continues to build its intellectual property portfolio and advances programs to treat patients with acute and chronic progressive disease.
About XORTX Therapeutics Inc.
XORTX is a pharmaceutical company with three clinically advanced products in development: 1) our lead XRx-026 program for the treatment of gout; 2) XRx-008 program for ADPKD; and 3) XRx-101 for acute kidney and other acute organ injury associated with respiratory virus infections. In addition, the Company is developing XRx-225, a pre-clinical stage program for Type 2 diabetic nephropathy, and the recently acquired VB4-P5 program, which is currently at the pre-IND stage of development and targets both rare and prevalent forms of kidney disease. XORTX is working to advance products that target aberrant purine metabolism and xanthine oxidase to decrease or inhibit production of uric acid. At XORTX, we are dedicated to developing medications that improve the quality of life and health of individuals with gout and other important diseases.”
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