ContraFect Announces Patent for New Class of Anti-Bacterial Medicines

ContraFect (NASDAQ: CFRX) (NASDAQ:CFRXW) (NASDAQ: CFRXZ) announces that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued U.S. Patent No. 9,034,322, titled “Streptococcus bacteriophage lysins for detection and treatment of gram positive bacteria.”
According to the press release:

This patent, which expires on April 20, 2032, is exclusively licensed to ContraFect from The Rockefeller University, the assignee. CF-301 is currently in Phase I and is the first lysin allowed by FDA to be tested in humans. By killing bacteria immediately upon contact, lysins are fundamentally different than conventional antibiotics and most cytotoxic agents, which require bacterial cell division and metabolism to occur in order to exert their effect.

Julia P. Gregory, ContraFect’s Chief Executive Officer, is quoted:

ContraFect is pleased to have strong patent protection in place for this new class of anti-bacterial medicines that we believe have the potential to transform the treatment paradigm for drug-resistant Staph infections, including the MRSA superbug. We would also like to congratulate Dr. Vincent A. Fischetti, who pioneered the work on lysins at Rockefeller University.

Click here to read the full press release from ContraFect.