RedHill Biopharma Ltd. (NASDAQ:RDHL) (Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange:RDHL) (“RedHill” or the “Company”), a specialty biopharmaceutical company primarily focused on late clinical-stage development and commercialization of proprietary drugs for gastrointestinal (GI) diseases, today announced that it has received a Notice of Allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and an Intention to Grant from the European Patent Office (EPO) for two new patents covering RHB-104, expected to be valid until at least February 5, 2029, once granted.
RHB-104 is a potentially ground-breaking, proprietary, orally-administered antibiotic combination therapy, with potent intracellular, antimycobacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. The development of RHB-104 for Crohn’s disease is based on the hypothesis that Crohn’s disease is caused by Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) infection in susceptible patients.
RedHill’s robust patent portfolio covering RHB-104 is comprised of 30 patents in many countries, including five patents in the U.S., with additional patent claims being pursued.
RedHill is conducting a first Phase III study of RHB-104 in Crohn’s disease (the MAP US study). The last patient enrolled in the study completed 26 weeks of treatment for primary endpoint evaluation in early May 2018, and top-line results from the study are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.
The MAP US study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled first Phase III study evaluating the safety and efficacy of RHB-104 in subjects with moderately to severely active Crohn’s disease (defined as Crohn’s Disease Active Index (CDAI) between 220 and 450). The primary endpoint is disease remission, defined as CDAI value of less than 150 at week 26. The study has enrolled 331 patients across clinical sites in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Israel.
An independent Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) held two pre-planned meetings and unanimously recommended to continue the study, with no safety concerns. The first DSMB meeting reviewed safety data from the study and the second DSMB meeting reviewed safety and efficacy data from the first 222 subjects who had completed week 26 assessments of the study.
In addition, an open-label extension Phase III study (MAP US2 study) is ongoing to evaluate the safety and efficacy of RHB-104 in subjects who remain with active Crohn’s disease (CDAI ≥ 150) after 26 weeks of blinded study therapy in the ongoing Phase III MAP US study.
Additional clinical studies are most likely to be required to support a U.S. New Drug Application (NDA) for RHB-104, if filed. If the MAP US study results are positive, RedHill will meet with key opinion leaders and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to present the data package and discuss the preferred path to potential approval.
Approximately 1.5 million people were diagnosed with Crohn’s disease worldwide in 20171. Worldwide sales of Crohn’s disease therapies are estimated to exceed $10 billion in 20182.
The MAP US Phase III study is registered on www.ClinicalTrials.gov, a web-based service of the U.S. National Institute of Health, which provides access to information on publicly and privately-supported clinical studies.
