Patent filed for injectable HBV, liver cancer drug in China

Biostar Pharmaceuticals has filed an invention and creation patent application in China for oleanolic acid injection for the treatment of hepatitis B virus infection and liver cancer, according to a news release.

The drug, currently under pharmacological research, passed the preliminary examination of the People’s Republic of China State Intellectual Property Bureau, the release said.

“The filing and acceptance for review of the invention patent application indicates that the company had made considerable progress in developing its oleanolic acid injection,” Ronghua Wang, chairman of Biostar, said in the release. “This promises to establish the technical foundation for the product’s research and development and future expansion. [Biostar] will continue to increase investment in its research and development efforts to generate effective drugs for the PRC markets.”

Biostar’s research and development team collaborated with researchers from Shaanxi University of Chinese Medicine for 2 years to develop the drug, according to the release.

The company currently offers an oleanolic acid capsule that is designed to relieve hepatic injury causes by HBV regeneration and “believed to promote hepatic cell regeneration, to be effective in hepatic coma treatment, to inhibit fibrous hyperplasia and prevent hepatocirrhosis,” according to the Biostar website.