ANEW MEDICAL, INC. Announces Patents Issued in Major Asian Markets for use of Genetic Therapy in the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease and ALS

• Patents issued in mainland China protect the Company’s novel secreted Klotho protein and Its gene delivery system
• Recent Patents issued in Hong Kong and Shanghai support protection to develop treatments for Alzheimer’s Disease and other neurodegenerative diseases

NEW YORK, Aug. 08, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ANEW MEDICAL, INC. (“ANEW” or “the Company”) (NASDAQ: WENA) a US-based biotechnology company focused on developing cell- and gene-based treatments to affect aging and age-related diseases, announces the grant and issuance of patent number HK1259628 protecting the development of novel genetic approaches for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases to include Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s diseases and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (“ALS”).

The Company previously announced that it had been granted this key patent in China (Patent No. CN 117126829A) for the use of ANEW’s Klotho protein and Klotho gene delivery and expression systems in the treatment of cognition, memory and neurodegenerative diseases. This intellectual property was licensed by ANEW from UNIVERSITAT AUTÒNOMA DE BARCELONA (UAB) and INSTITUCIÓ CATALANA DE RECERCA I ESTUDIS AVANÇATS (ICREA) in Barcelona, Spain on an exclusive worldwide basis.

Dr. Joseph Sinkule, the Founder and CEO of ANEW, stated: “With intellectual property protection in Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, and throughout the Chinese market for our innovative way of treating neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s diseases (“AD”), identifying clinical trial sites and corporate partners to evaluate the efficacy and safety of our product candidates is very important to ANEW.”

Dr. Sinkule continued: “The patents, comprising the secreted form of the human Klotho protein (“s-KL”) being delivered as a protein or by delivery of a sequence of the human gene that makes the protein in the body, are projected to be a major advance in how we treat or prevent the progression of these neurologic diseases. We are particularly excited about the preclinical results and plan to begin human testing in late 2025.”

The aging population in China is affected by the same age-related diseases we are fighting in the US and Europe. According to a recent report, China has the highest number of Alzheimer's patients in the world, with nearly 10 million people aged 60 and older suffering from the disease. Additionally, Asia in general is experiencing the fastest growth in the elderly population is taking place. Japan is considered a “super-aging” country, and the number of people with AD in Japan is expected to reach approximately 6.5–7 million by 2025, very similar to the prevalence of AD in the U.S. (approximately 7 million cases). AD and AD-associated dementia are very common in Western Europe and Finland, with North America following close behind. While AD is least common in Sub-Saharan Africa, African-Americans in the U.S. are about twice as likely to have Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia as Caucasian and Hispanic Americans.