ALEXION ISSUED PATENT FOR ECULIZUMAB IN JAPAN

Alexion Pharmaceuticals has reported that the Japanese Patent Office has issued patent No. 373426, which relates to the company's lead product, Soliris brand of eculizumab.

The issued claims encompass the use of Alexion's lead drug candidate, eculizumab, to inhibit complement activation in humans. Complement inhibition is the key mechanism of action for eculizumab in paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH), which Alexion is currently developing under the brand name Soliris.

PNH, a rare form of hemolytic anemia, is an acquired genetic blood disorder characterized by destruction of red blood cells by the body's complement system (a component of the immune system). Patients with PNH lack naturally-occurring complement inhibitors which prevent red blood cell destruction. Eculizumab, a long-acting C5 terminal complement inhibitor, is a monoclonal antibody drug that selectively blocks terminal complement activation. There currently is no therapy specifically available for treatment of PNH.