This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

Quoted from Marketwatch.com : Opexa required european patent for Tovaxin, and M. CEO seems to be interested in european development of Tovaxin. Maybe a hope for a clinical trial in Europe soon ?

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Hi Jean,

I believe this is what you saw. It certainly is a step in the direction of having European trials.

http://www.ag-ip-news.com/GetArticle.as ... 60&lang=en
AGIPNEWS4760
8/8/2007 13:30 GMT
ag-IP-news
Opexa Therapeutics Receives European Patent Notification for T-Cell Vaccine

WOODLANDS, TEXAS - Opexa Therapeutics Inc., a company involved in the development and commercialization of cell therapies, announced in a Wednesday press release that it has received notification under Rule 51(4) from the Examining Division of the European Patent Office (EPO) that the EPO intends to issue a patent for “Autologous T Cell Vaccine Materials and Method.”

The European patent application is related to a unique method-specific approach for generating a T-cell vaccine that attacks what is believed to be the underlying cause of multiple sclerosis (MS). Rule 51(4) EPC notification is equivalent to a “Notice of Allowance” by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. It is expected that the patent will be granted within the next six months.

“This is an important step in advancing our intellectual property strategy for Tovaxin, T-cell vaccine for the treatment of MS. Europe represents a significant market as we move forward with our clinical development of Tovaxin and we are pleased that our method has been recognized as being unique,” President and CEO of Opexa Therapeutics David McWilliams said.

For a T-cell vaccine to be effective, it should be able to induce T-cell cytotoxic and/or regulatory immune responses against the pathogenic T-cells.

Studies of T-cell vaccine have indicated that T-cell vaccination with peripheral blood-derived autologous myelin-peptide selected T-cells in multiple sclerosis patients resulted in the in vivo induction of CD8+ cytotoxic T-cells and CD4+CD25+FoxP3 Tregs specific for T-cell vaccine.

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Best regards, Tim

In 2001, my family helped fund the startup of Opexa. My father served on the Board of Directors of PharmaFrontiers, now Opexa Therapeutics, until the company completed a successful 23-million dollar financing round.