GI Innovation nets European patent for allergy microbiome combo

GI Innovation, a Korean drug developer, said on Thursday that it successfully registered a European patent for its allergy drug GI-301 (YH35324) and microbiome combination therapy.

Accordingly, the patent not only has no sequence limitation for IgE TRAP, but also covers the microbiome, securing a broad scope of rights and blocking competitor’s commercialization of microbiom utilizing the lgE Trap-Fc fusion protein. 

The company explained that it specifically targetted the European market as it accounts for approximately 20 percent of the global probiotics market according to MarketsandMarkets Research. Additionally,  most of the major companies in the global probiotics market are European companies including Danone, Probi, and Nestle.

In September last year, GI Innovation, together with its affiliate GI Biome, published the results of the efficacy of IgE TRAP and Bifidobacterium longum combination therapy in a food allergy model in the Nature Communications journal.

Together, the publication and patent registration will help the company enter the allergy market, which is highly scalable to other treatments.

"By combining GI-301, an allergy treatment, with probiotics, it is possible to expand the indications not only to atopic diseases but also to food allergies, which do not have adequate treatment options," said GI Innovation Chairman and CEO, Rhee Byung-geon. "This European patent registration is not only an important factor that can increase the value of GI-301 in technology transfer negotiations with global pharmaceutical companies, but also provides a bridgehead to enter the European market."

In a press conference earlier this month, GI Innovation expressed its intention to pursue a license out deal for GI-301 with Japanese companies as there was a high demand in that market.