In a February 14, 2006 press release, Idera Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. announced that U.S. Patent No. 7,176,296,
titled "Modulation of Oligonucleotide CpG-Mediated Immune Stimulation by Positional Modification of Nucleosides," has been granted by the U.S. Patent
Office. According to Idera, the patent
covers a series of compounds that comprise modifications to the CpG
dinucleotide motif. These modifications
include chemical groups that can modulate the immune response. The "CpG" nomenclature stands for
the dinucleotide 5'-deoxycytidine-deoxyguanidine or deoxyguanidine analog-3',
where "p" is an internucleotide linkage, such as a phosphodiester,
phosphorothioate, or an alkylphosphonate, to name a few examples. According to Idera, this patent encompasses
components of its current candidate compounds that target Toll-Like Receptors
(TLRs).
The '296 patent claims priority as a divisional application
(of U.S. Patent No. 7,115,579)
back to April 30, 2001. In brief, the
patent claims relate to CpG compounds modified with a variety of
immunomodulatory groups, which can either increase or decrease
immunostimulatory effect relative to the unmodified compound. Representative independent Claim 1 recites:
- A compound
having increased or reduced immunostimulatory effect, the compound comprising a
5'-CpG-3' dinucleotide, wherein C is cytosine and G is guanosine or a
substituted guanosine, and an immunomodulatory moiety, wherein the
immunomodulatory moiety is selected from the group consisting of abasic
nucleoside, 1,3-propanediol linker, nitropyrrole, nitroindole, deoxyuridine,
inosine, isoguanosine, 2-aminopurine, nebularine, 7-deazaguanosine,
4-thiodeoxyuridine, 4-thiothymidine, d-isoguanosine, d-iso-5-methylcytosine,
P-base, and 3'-3' linkage, wherein the compound is 12 to 35 nucleotides in
length, wherein the compound does not have antisense activity, and wherein the
increased or reduced immunomodulatory effect is relative to a similar compound
lacking the immunomodulatory moiety.
More information regarding this technology and Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. can be found here.
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