WPD Pharmaceuticals Receives European Patent for Cancer Targeting Drugs

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 29, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WPD Pharmaceuticals Inc. (CSE: WBIO)(FSE: 8SV1)(“WPD” or the “Company”) a clinical stage pharmaceutical company, is pleased to announce that on January 8, 2020 Wake Forest University (“Wake Forest”) received confirmation that the European national phase validation has been completed for the patent on Antibodies against human and canine IL-13ra2 (European Patent No. 2970492). In addition, Wake Forest was granted a European patent for EphA3 and Multi-Valent Targeting of Tumors (European Patent No. 3068797).

The Company previously announced that Wake Forest had received the same patent in the United States. The IL-13ra2 protein is part of WPD’s “WP101” drug portfolio and the patent was licensed to WPD for the development of the protein critical in the development of Th2 immune responses, which are associated with allergy, asthma, fibrosis and aggressive forms of cancer.

Mariusz Olejniczak, CEO of WPD commented, “Both IL-13 and EphA3 were shown to be important factors in eliminating tumor cells related to various forms of cancer, and our development of these proteins is incredibly important. We now have exclusive patents in both the U.S. and Europe, and our focus is to advance our current pre-clinical studies.”

The Company also announces that it has retained Caelum Finance Ltd. (“Caelum”) as corporate advisor for strategic and business development advice. Caelum Finance Ltd. is a provider of merchant/investment banking and advisory services to public and private companies throughout all sectors. Caelum has been granted 2,000,000 options exercisable at $0.95 for one year. WPD has also engaged Strike Communications Inc. (“Strike”) to provide corporate communications and strategic investor relations for the Company. Strike is a boutique capital markets, IR and communications firm based in Vancouver, BC.

About WPD Pharmaceuticals

WPD is a biotechnology research and development company with a focus on oncology, namely research and development of medicinal products involving biological compounds and small molecules.  WPD has 8 novel drug candidates with 4 that are in clinical development stage and 4 in pre-clinical development. These drug candidates were researched at institutions including MD Anderson Cancer Center, Mayo Clinic and Emory University, and WPD currently has ongoing collaborations with Wake Forest University and leading hospitals and academic centers in Poland.