Insert Therapeutics granted patent for nano-based cancer drug

September 24, 2007 — Insert Therapeutics Inc. has been issued a U.S. patent for its lead cancer-fighting product, IT-101.

“Cyclodextrin-based polymers for therapeutic delivery,” or Patent Number 7,270,808 covers a pairing of Insert’s proprietary Cyclosert drug-delivery molecule and the anti-cancer compound camptothecin.

Camptothecin, alone, is too toxic for use in humans, but derivatives of the drug have been in use for years. The patent, issued September 18, covers Cyclosert combined with either camptothecin or its derivatives. IT-101 has been in Phase I clinical trials for cancer since July 2006.

Cyclosert was invented in the Caltech lab of chemical engineering professor and Insert founder Mark Davis, who designed and constructed the nanoparticle treatment using molecular building blocks. Insert CEO John Petrovich said he hopes to build a “portfolio of novel nanoparticle therapeutics” based on Cyclosert.

Insert Therapeutics is a majority-owned subsidiary of Arrowhead Research Corp. (Nasdaq: ARWR).

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