(By Balaseshan) Galectin Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:GALT) shares jumped in Monday's trading after the company received U.S. patent for chronic liver disease treatment.
The Newton, Massachusetts-based company has received a notice of issuance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for Patent Number 8,236,780 "Galactose-prolonged polysaccharides in a formulation for antifibrotic therapies".
The patent covers key methods of derivation and use for the company's carbohydrate-based galectin inhibitor compound for use in patients with chronic liver disease associated with the development of fibrosis, established liver fibrosis or end-stage scarring, or cirrhosis.
Fibrotic disease of the liver is highly prevalent in the population because all chronic liver disease of multiple causes (e.g., viral hepatitis, fatty liver, alcohol) results in fibrosis of the liver and there are no currently approved pharmaceutical therapies.
The major claim is for a method of obtaining the galectin inhibitor compound, obtaining a composition for parenteral administration in an acceptable pharmaceutical carrier and administering to a subject having at least one of the following: chronic liver disease associated with the development of fibrosis, established liver fibrosis or cirrhosis.
The use covers inhibiting or slowing the progression of fibrosis or the reversal of fibrosis. The lead compound in development for NASH with fibrosis, GR-MD-02, is covered by this patent and it provides opportunities for development of additional compounds in the class.
"Preclinical results of our candidates have shown reversal of fibrosis in rodent models of disease, particularly in non-steatohepatitis, NASH, or fatty liver disease, which will be our first clinical indication for our fibrosis program," said Peter Traber, Chief Executive of Galectin Therapeutics.
GALT is trading up 62.15% at $2.87 on Monday. The stock has been trading between $1.61 and $7.38 for the past 52 weeks. During the early trade on Monday, the stock hit a high of $3.48 and about 1.6 million shares had changed hands by 11.57 am ET.