HaemaLogiX announces issuance of US patent for LMA

The provisional patent application filed in 2018 entitled “Anti-lambda myeloma antigen (LMA) binding proteins to treat LMA-expressing cancers and autoimmune disorders” has been granted by the United States of America. The application is directed towards anti-lambda myeloma antigen binding proteins, which may be useful for treating disorders associated with aberrant proliferation of lambda restricted B-cell malignancies and/or their precursors.

The inventors identified a selection of human antibodies that bind and kill LMA positive cell lines. They identified human antibodies with heavy chain modifications that direct preferential binding to LMA (a cell-surface antigen) over free lambda light chain (a serum antigen). These modifications may be incorporated into various binding proteins to preferentially target cells expressing LMA. Such structurally unique binding proteins may be particular effective at mediating the targeting killing of cells expressing LMA via the dual mechanisms of antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) and complement-dependent cytotoxicity (CDC).

This patent was granted in the USA on 20 September 2022, has also been granted in Australia and is also under review in other jurisdictions.