01 November 2022

N4 Pharma Plc

("N4 Pharma" or the "Company")

Patent filing update

N4 Pharma Plc (AIM: N4P), the specialist pharmaceutical company developing Nuvec®, a novel delivery system for cancer treatments and vaccines, provides an update on its patent application for Nuvec®, filed in March 2020 (no. PCT/GB2021/050960 Gene Therapy Vectors).

The Company originally filed a Patent Cooperation Treaty ("PCT") patent application for Nuvec® to be used to manufacture viral vectors and to make viral vectors more efficient in applications such as ex-vivo gene therapy treatments. Under the terms of the PCT application process and following feedback from an international patent search, the Company is now making enhancements to the claims of the applications in the territories in which it wishes to gain patent protection. N4 pharma is pursuing this patent application which, if granted, would be in addition to the patents it has exclusively licensed from the University of Queensland.

The Company has decided to focus its claims on the use of the specific spiky properties of Nuvec™ to load and transfect viral vectors, especially adenoviral vectors and lentiviral vectors. This is based on feedback from the examiner and further work the Company has done that has shown how combining Nuvec® with adenoviral vectors (in addition to its earlier work on lentiviral vectors) can lead to an improvement in vector performance and a reduction in the amount of the viral vector needed.

The Company has filed ongoing patent applications in the following territories: Europe (including UK); USA; Japan; India and Canada. It will also file applications in Australia and China in due course. 

Nigel Theobald, Chief Executive Officer of the Company, commented:

"We are seeking to refine our claims to give this patent the greatest chance of being granted in a field with strong commercial opportunity. Should the patent be granted in these territories it would mirror the regions granted for the main patent which the Company has licensed from the University of Queensland and further strengthen the commercial protection of Nuvec®."

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About N4 Pharma

N4 Pharma is a specialist pharmaceutical company developing a novel delivery system for cancer and vaccine treatments using its unique silica nanoparticle delivery system called Nuvec®.

N4 Pharma's business model is to partner with companies developing novel antigens for cancer and vaccine treatments to use Nuvec® as the delivery vehicle to get their antigen into cells to express the protein needed for the required immunity. As these products progress through pre clinical and clinical programs, N4 Pharma will seek to receive up front payments, milestone payments and ultimately royalty payments once products reach the market.