Bioasis' latest patent, No. 10,772,939, is a continuance of the company’s foundational patent, “Fragments of P97 and uses thereof,” patent No. 9,364,567. This is a second continuance of that original patent. 

 

All 3 patents in this “Fragments of P97” line reference other, earlier, patent applications or issued patents. This means, among other things, that patent protection for xB3 begins with earlier patent applications and patent issuances, and that the IP remains protected throughout the application and issuance process. As more knowledge is gained about protected property, including changes to peptide structures, linker structures, payload linking sites, etc., “continuance” applications are made and patents issued that incorporate and protect the latest changes.

 

Here is a history of the line of patents entitled, “Fragments of P97 and uses thereof.”

 

Patent No. 9,364,567

Application Filed: March 13, 2014

Patent Issuance Date: June 14, 2016

 

Patent No. 9,993,530

Application Filed: May 12, 2016

Patent Issuance Date: June 12, 2018

 

Patent No. 10,772,939

Application Filed: May 8, 2018

Patent Issuance Date: September 15, 2020

 

With respect to this latest patent, note that the patent application filing date was May 8, 2018. A few days later, on May 21, 2018, Bioasis announced the engagement of WuXi Biologics for the development and manufacturing of xB3-001. This likely means that Bioasis delayed any announcement of its relationship with WuXi until the patent application had been submitted to and acknowledged by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).  Further, it’s likely that WuXi discovered and developed some structural adjustments that would enhance the behaviour of xB3 or its manufacturing processes to achieve GMP standards. 

 

With respect to patents and press release timing, note that Bioasis did not announce the peptide until April 2014, a month after the peptide patent application had been made to the USPTO.  In other words, get the IP protected before you make it public.

 

So, did either of these applications for patent continuances cause delays for Bioasis? I doubt it. xB3, with its “Fragments of P97 and uses thereof” patents, has been protected since the first patent application on March 13, 2014, and by other patents and patent applications long before that. Almost all IP  is discussed publicly and business is advanced with “patent pending” being a very common notice that the IP is protected by patent applications until patents are issued. We see that everywhere.

 

But here’s the nugget. The original patent would have afforded IP protection for 20 years from the date of filing the application. Continuances reset the IP protection period to the date of the filing of its application. It’s my understanding that the xB3 Platform is now protected until May 8, 2038, instead of the original 2034 date that the original patent apllication gave us.

 

This was a good news release, pure and simple.

Davenport