TheraCryf: European Patent Office to award patent for Ox-1 antagonist

Alderley Park, UK – 27 November 2024: TheraCryf plc (AIM: TCF), the clinical stage drug development company focussing on oncology and neuropsychiatry has received the decision from the European Patent Office to award a Composition of Matter patent for its Orexin 1 (Ox-1) receptor antagonist in Europe, with a formal grant to be made on 18 December 2024.

TheraCryf’s highly selective Ox-1 receptor antagonist was acquired as part of its acquisition of Chronos Therapeutics Ltd in April 2024.  An imbalance in Orexin production and stimulation of the Orexin 1 receptor in the brain has been linked to anxiety, addiction and other  mental health conditions. An Orexin 1 receptor antagonist inhibits the effect of Orexin on this receptor, potentially providing effective treatments for these disorders. TheraCryf’s Ox-1 is the most selective Orexin 1  receptor antagonist thus far discovered and is currently at late pre-clinical stage.

This patent adds to TheraCryf’s extensive international IP portfolio covering its oncology and neuropsychiatry products. 

Dr Huw Jones, TheraCryf’s CEO, commented:

“Composition of Matter patents such as this are the strongest form of intellectual property available. This decision will give extensive protection for our candidate Ox-1 receptor antagonist and associated novel molecular structures in the broad group of territories covered by the European Patent Office, complementing the patents in this family already awarded  in the USA and Asia.”