OxThera AB is Being Granted US Patent for Oxalobacter Secretagogues

STOCKHOLM, November 15, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

OxThera AB, a privately-held Stockholm-based biopharmaceutical company, today announced a granted US patent on Oxalobacter formigenes secretagogues.  

Oxabact^® , a formulation of highly concentrated lyophilized Oxalobacter formigenes, is being developed by OxThera AB as a potential treatment for patients with primary hyperoxaluria (PH). Oxabact^® is designed to increase the intestinal secretion of oxalate from plasma and thereby decrease and prevent oxalate crystal accumulation and kidney deterioration. Oxalobacter formigenes produces specific secretagogues that enhance active transepithelial transport of oxalate from the bloodstream and into the intestines. OxThera isolated and defined such secretagogues, patent number US 10,125,176, and are now exploring the potential to use these therapeutically.

"This recent development should enable us to explore possibilities to further enhance the favorable effects seen with Oxabact^® therapy. OxThera aims at finding ways to use these secretagogues as novel therapies on their own or in combination with Oxabact^® to control the secretion of oxalate in primary hyperoxaluria patients," says OxThera's CEO Matthew Gantz.

PH is a rare autosomal recessive disorder leading to markedly elevated levels of endogenously produced oxalate in plasma and urine, which can cause kidney damage, including calcification of the kidney. If left untreated, the disease can cause kidney failure and premature death. This disease affects about 3,000 patients in the Western world.

Oxabact^® is an oral, live biotherapeutic treatment where Oxalobacter formigenes, a type of bacteria that uses oxalate as its sole carbon source, induces secretion of oxalate from blood plasma into the gut. Oxalobacter formigenes is likely interacting with the gut lining cells via secretagogues that are biological peptides or small biomolecules.

OxThera holds proprietary rights to pharmaceutical preparations and their use for treatment of hyperoxaluria. Oxabact^® has received orphan drug designations in the EU and the US for the treatment of PH. The company recently initiated a placebo-controlled Phase 3 clinical trial with Oxabact^® in patients with PH at ten clinical sites in seven countries.

For more information, see http://www.oxthera.com

About OxThera 

OxThera holds worldwide rights for compositions and methods of use for treatment of hyperoxaluria. OxThera currently has two products in its pipeline: Oxabact^® for the treatment of primary hyperoxaluria, and Oxazyme^®, an oxalate decarboxylase, for the treatment of oxalate malabsorption and kidney failure in enteric hyperoxaluria.