Soligenix Receives European Patent for Formulation of Synthetic Hypericin to Treat Psoriasis

Soligenix, Inc., a late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing products to treat rare diseases where there is an unmet medical need, announced today that its proprietary formulation of synthetic hypericin has been granted a European patent for the treatment of psoriasis.  The issued patent, EP 2571507, Formulations and methods of treatment of skin conditions, complements the method of treatment claims covered by the previously issued US patent 6001882, Photoactivated hypericin and the use thereof.

Synthetic hypericin, the active ingredient in SGX301, completed a Phase 2 clinical study demonstrating significant improvement in both Cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) and psoriasis.  Positive results were published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology (https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jaad.2010.02.039). Soligenix is currently enrolling patients into a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial of SGX301 for the treatment of CTCL.

“We are pleased to be granted additional protection for our intellectual property in Europe while we aggressively pursue SGX301 in CTCL.  In the meantime, we are positioning synthetic hypericin for potential product expansion into other cutaneous T-cell diseases, such as psoriasis, as a component of our long-term strategy to enhance the value of our compound,” stated Christopher J. Schaber, PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Soligenix.  “With the promising Phase 2 results in both CTCL and psoriasis, we eagerly await the results of our ongoing Phase 3 CTCL clinical study, which are expected by the end of this year.”