Patent Granted for Lung Disorder Treatment

(Mikael Häggström/Wikimedia Commons)

Discovery Laboratories Inc., a biotechnology company in Warrington, Pennsylvania, said today the company received a U.S. patent for its treatment of pulmonary inflammation. The patent — number 7,863,241 — expires in 2023.

Discovery Labs says the patent covers its KL4 peptide (also known as sinapultide), an engineered pulmonary surfactant that lowers surface tension and promote oxygen exchange. The patented treatment delivers an array of protease inhibitors, administered as either a liquid or aerosol, for treating pulmonary inflammation.

The company credits Charles Cochrane, co-founder of The Scripps Research Institute, as the original inventor of Discovery Labs’ surfactant technology. The Scripps Research Institute has granted Discovery Labs exclusive licensing rights for this patent.

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