Windtree Therapeutics announces issuance of pure SERCA2a activator patent

Windtree Therapeutics announced that the European Patent Office has granted Patent No. 3805243, providing composition of matter patent coverage for the pure SERCA2a Activator class of drug candidates. The pure SERCA2a Activators are one of two families of preclinical drug candidates that act on SERCA2a in the Company’s pipeline. The pure SERCA2a Activators are devoid of action on the Na+/K+ pump while activating SERCA2a. The new European patent, titled: “ANDROSTANE DERIVATIVES WITH ACTIVITY AS PURE OR PREDOMINANTLY PURE STIMULATORS OF SERCA2A FOR THE TREATMENT OF Heart Failure,” provides patent protection until October 9, 2039 for the family of compounds with the pure SERCA2a mechanism of action. The other family of SERCA2a Activators is the dual mechanism of action which the Company previously announced had received composition of matter patents from the European Patent Office and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. “SERCA2a activity is decreased in heart failure. Windtree believes activation of SERCA2a represents a potentially important advancement in heart failure treatment for patients,” said Craig Fraser, CEO of Windtree Therapeutics. “Heart failure with preserved ejection fraction is a condition in which the heart’s main pumping chamber becomes stiff and unable to fill properly. SERCA2a activation has the potential to be beneficial in this type of heart failure that accounts for nearly one-half of the chronic heart failure patients. Given the potential for oral use, it could be utilized in both the chronic out-patient and hospital markets.”