EXCLUSIVE: Ocean Biomedical's Co-Founder Expects To Receive US Patent Covering Malaria Therapeutics

Ocean Biomedical Inc's OCEA co-founder, Jonathan Kurtis, has received a Notice of Allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for his U.S. patent application covering a therapeutic and prophylactic monoclonal antibody that kills falciparum malaria parasites. 

What Happened: Ocean Biomedical anticipates that the USPTO will issue a patent for Dr. Kurtis' application in the coming months. 

Building on his discovery that PfGARP is potentially a highly effective vaccine target for malaria, Dr. Kurtis has discovered and produced a monoclonal antibody that binds to PfGARP and triggers the malaria parasite to kill itself.

In February, Ocean Biomedical issued a press release touting the discovery of bispecific antibodies and immune checkpoint inhibitors that kill glioblastoma and melanoma cells and block the metastasis of malignant melanoma cells to the lung by over 90%.

Why It Matters: The monoclonal antibody can be used as a potential therapeutic drug for individuals with severe malaria infection and a potential short-term prophylactic treatment to prevent malaria infection in travelers, overseas deployed military and government personnel, and individuals living in areas with short malaria transmission seasons.

"With the rising resistance to artemisinin-based drugs in sub-Saharan Africa, it is imperative that we get new malaria therapeutics into the drug development pipeline," said Elizabeth Ng, Ocean Biomedical's CEO.

Last month, Ocean Biomedical's co-founder Jack Elias presented details from previously published discoveries with potential tumor suppression applications.

Price Action: OCEA shares closed 3.43% lower at $4.51 on Wednesday.