Sonnet BioTherapeutics secures US patent for two drug candidates

by Junna Base November 8, 2024

The Company’s FHAB platform aims to target tumor and lymphoid tissues to improve the efficacy and safety of immunomodulatory biologics. Photo credit: Alex_Traksel via Shutterstock.

Sonnet BioTherapeutics has announced the issuance of U.S. Patent No. 12,134,635 for its two new drug candidates, SON-1411 and SON-1400, which are expected to improve treatment options for cancer.

The patent, titled “Interleukin 18 (IL-18) Variants and Fusion Proteins Comprising Same,” was granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The drug candidates are modified versions of recombinant human interleukin-18. The patent is valid until June 2044.

SON-1411 is a bifunctional fusion protein that combines IL-18 with wild-type single-chain IL-12 and is linked to the Company’s Fully Human Albumin Binding (FHAB) platform.

Another drug, SON-1400, is a monofunctional fusion protein that includes the FHAB-linked IL-18 domain.

Pankaj Mohan, founder and CEO of Sonnet, said: “The grant of this intellectual property is an important milestone that we believe represents a significant point of difference from competitors seeking to realize the full biological potential of IL-18, either alone or in Combination with IL-12.”

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“IL-18 is a key cytokine that, in synergistic combination with IL-12, has the potential to be an important therapeutic asset for oncology and cell-based therapy.”

The Company’s FHAB platform aims to target tumor and lymphoid tissues to improve the efficacy and safety of immunomodulatory biologics.

It also prolongs the biological activity of associated molecules by binding native albumin in the serum, thereby attacking the tumor microenvironment via high-affinity binding to glycoprotein 60 and the secreted acidic and cysteine-rich protein.

IL-18 plays a prominent role in regulating adaptive and innate immune responses and influences natural killer cells, monocytes and other cell types.

IL-18BP acts as a decoy receptor and prevents IL-18-mediated activation of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes.

The company is developing bifunctional cytokine molecules, IL-18-FHAB-IL12 and IL-18-FHAB.

These molecules have an IL-18 domain that does not bind IL-18BP but maintains full IL-18 and IL-12 bioactivity. This development could potentially expand the applications of immunotherapy for cancer patients.