Immutep Ltd (ASX: IMM) shares will be on watch this morning after the company announced it has secured a second United States patent for eftilagimod alpha. The Immutep share price ended Tuesday's trading session up 8.1% to 33 cents.
Immutep is a global biotech that is focused on developing immunotherapy therapies for cancer and autoimmune diseases. Its lead product, eftilagimod alpha, is a soluble LAG-3Ig fusion protein based on the LAG-3 which is in clinical development.
New patent added
The Immutep share price could be on the move today following the company's latest update released after yesterday's market close
According to its release, Immutep has been granted patent number 10,940,181 by the United States Patent & Trade Mark Office. The new patent is titled, 'Combined Preparations for the Treatment of Cancer or Infection'.
This follows a previous patent that was announced by the company on 30 December 2020.
The new patent builds another layer to the protection of Immutep's intellectual property. In particular, it relates to methods of treating cancer by administering the company's lead drug candidate, eftilagimod alpha, in combination with a PD-1 pathway inhibitor.
The expiry of the additional patent falls on 20 January 2036.
In other news that could impact the Immutep share price today, the company noted it has filed another divisional application to expand on other related aspects of its invention.
Words from the head of Immutep
Immutep CEO Marc Voigt hailed the company's progress in securing the new patent. He said:
We are very pleased to add another United States patent to our expanding patent portfolio, especially in this case, because of its direct relevance to our clinical development programs. These patent grants are important as they underpin ongoing investment in clinical development of efti and allow us to confidently engage in business development discussions.
Immutep share price review
The Immutep share price is down just over 4% when looking at its chart over the past 12 months. Immutep shares dropped steeply last March from 30 cents to an all-time low of 10 cents. While its shares slowly recovered over the remainder of 2020, they spiked in December from the results of the company's breast cancer trial.
Since then, profit taking and weak market sentiment have steadily led Immutep shares lower.
