AVANT Issued Patents For Complement Inhibitors

AVANT Immunotherapeutics Inc. has been issued two U.S. patents covering its first and second generation complement inhibitors. U.S. Patent No. 5,856,300 covers compositions and methods for producing and using AVANT's second generation complement inhibitor, sCR1sLex. U.S. Patent No. 5,856,297 covers pharmaceutical compositions of AVANT's first generation complement inhibitor, TP1O (soluble complement receptor type 1, or sCR1).

Complement is a family of proteins that circulate in the blood and provide a defense against foreign materials and organisms. Excessive complement activation, however, is involved in a wide range of diseases including ischemia-reperfusion (heart attack, stroke), transplantation, and chronic inflammatory diseases (arthritis, multiple sclerosis).

TP20, the product name for sCR1sLex, is a combined complement and selectin inhibitor that integrates sCR1 with the sLex (sia1y1 Lewis x) carbohydrate in a single molecule. The sLex carbohydrate binds to selectins, adhesion molecules expressed on endothelial cells and platelets during inflammation, thus allowing TP20 to target localized sites of vascular inflammation.

"In diseases such as stroke and myocardial infarction, areas of complement-mediated damage are highly localized and the ability to target therapy specifically to those sites could offer significant advantages,'' said Dr. Una S. Ryan, president and chief executive officer of AVANT Inummotherapeutics. "We have shown the clinical value of inhibiting complement activation in human lung transplantation trials with our potent first generation complement inhibitor, TP10. TP20 offers new and expanded opportunities to AVANT in a number of additional large markets where targeted therapy could provide particular benefits."

For more information: AVANT Immunotherapeutics Inc., 119 Fourth Avenue, Needham, MA 02494-2725. Telephone: 781-433-0771. Fax: 781-433-0262.