Amarantus Announces Issuance of US Patent Covering MANF Treatment of Wolfram’s Syndrome, Retinitis Pigmentosa, and Glaucoma

Amarantus Bioscience Holdings announced that subsidiary MANF Therapeutics was issued US Patent No. 10,195,251 entitled “Methods of Treatment for Retinal Diseases Using MANF and CDNF” that covers the use of mesencephalic astrocyte-derived neurotrophic factor (MANF) or cerebral dopamine neurotrophic factor (CDNF) as a treatment for various ophthalmic disorders, including inherited retinal disorders (retinitis pigmentosa, Wolfram’s syndrome, etc.), age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and glaucoma. The approved claims cover the use of MANF or CDNF as an eye drop, as well as intravitreal injection. MANF Therapeutics is focused on the development of MANF as an intravitreal injection for the treatment of Wolfram’s syndrome and glaucoma.

MANF has significant therapeutic potential across multiple orphan ophthalmological conditions such as RAO, and retinitis pigmentosa, where MANF has already received orphan drug designations from the FDA, Wolfram’s Syndrome, as well as in larger indications such as glaucoma, Parkinson’s disease, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, including stroke and myocardial infarction, according to a company news release.

MANF Therapeutics is the front-runner and primary worldwide intellectual property (IP) holder for MANF-based therapies including protein therapy, gene therapy, and cell therapy. The company owns rights to composition of matter patents and patent applications for MANF and owns, or has licenses to, method of use patents and patent applications covering the use of MANF in ophthalmology, neurology, and diabetes. Amarantus is currently evaluating strategic options to advance MANF into clinical development.