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Galectin receives patent for liver fibrosis combination therapy

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted a notice of allowance to Galectin Therapeutics for carbohydrate-based galectin inhibitor compound GR-MD-02, the company announced in a news release.

“This patent provides additional coverage in the U.S. for the use of GR-MD-02 in combination with other potential anti-fibrotic agents in the treatment of liver fibrosis,” Peter G. Traber, MD, president, CEO and CMO of Galectin Therapeutics, said in the release.

“In the future, liver fibrosis could be treated with a combination of agents, and this patent provides important intellectual property for this possibility,” Traber said. “We are hopeful that our development program for GR-MD-02 will lead to the first therapy for the large unmet medical need of liver fibrosis.”

Galectin received fast-track designation from the FDA in March for GR-MD-02 among patients with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis with hepatic fibrosis.

The company also announced it has completed enrollment of the first cohort in a multicenter, partially masked phase 1 clinical trial related to the fast-track designation. The trial will involve 24 patients receiving four doses of GR-MD-02 weekly. Initial results are expected near the end of the first quarter, the release said.