Cizzle Biotechnology Holdings plc (LON:CIZ), the UK-based developer of diagnostic tests for early-stage cancer, has announced that patent applications that claim protection for methods that measure the CIZ1B lung cancer biomarker have been granted by the Canadian intellectual property office. The Company has a strong patent portfolio and continues to seek additional protection in other key markets globally. In addition to its existing patent coverage in the USA, a further application is likely to be granted by the United States patent and trademark office in due course.
The patent ‘Use of a fibrinogen capture agent to detect a CIZ1B variant’ concerns a two-step test format developed by Cizzle at the University of York. This test format is licensed to Cizzle Bio Inc (“BIO”) for use in North America and the Caribbean and these new patents will strengthen BIO’s position in commercialising the Company’s innovative and proprietary technology.
Background
The discovery and development of the CIZ1B biomarker test is the product of work by Professor Dawn Coverley, the Company’s founder and CSO, and her research team at the University of York. Initially supported by both UK Research and Industry and Charity sector research grants it has been the ambition to translate the laboratory findings into products that benefit future cancer patients in the UK, and elsewhere around the world.
Cizzle Biotechnology’s patent portfolio and technology know-how enhances the Company’s ability to deliver it’s global commercial strategy to licence globally its proprietary test for the CIZ1B biomarker for use in the early detection of lung cancer. The Company’s first licence agreement with BIO for North America and the Caribbean, has led to partnerships between BIO and specialist clinical laboratories and hospitals, to enable market penetration that makes the test available to as many clinicians and patients as possible.
Cizzle Biotechnology also has been granted patent protection from the European Patent Office and is now focussed on securing partnerships with accredited facilities in the UK and Europe including the NHS.
This aligns well with the current NHS cancer plan which aims to dramatically improve cancer survival by increasing the proportion of cancers diagnosed at stages 1 and 2 from half to three-quarters by 2028. This shift towards earlier diagnosis is expected to save 55,000 additional lives per year by 2028. The plan focuses on improving access to diagnosis and treatment, raising awareness of cancer symptoms, and increasing the number of cancers identified through screening, including personalised and risk-stratified approaches.
Commenting, Dawn Coverley, Chief Scientific Officer of Cizzle Biotechnology, said:
“The granted patents that cover the specific test format that we are taking to market with our partners in North America and elsewhere will protect the Company’s offering and add an additional level of security for our shareholders. They help to ensure that the Company’s innovative and commercially scalable CIZ1B biomarker test will bring benefit to cancer patients, through the roll out of early detection programs.”
