Eiger BioPharmaceuticals, Inc., focused on the development and commercialization of targeted therapies for rare and ultra-rare diseases, has announced that the European Patent Office and the Japan Patent Office have both issued decisions to grant patents with claims covering a broad range of lonafarnib boosted with ritonavir dosing regimens for the treatment of hepatitis delta virus (HDV) infection.  

A similar patent issued in the U.S. in 2018.  With the grant of these new European and Japanese patents, lonafarnib boosted with ritonavir has now obtained patent protection with claims covering treatment with lonafarnib boosted with ritonavir in key major pharmaceutical markets including the U.S., Europe, and Japan.  The patents, when granted, will expire in 2035.

Similar patent applications are currently pending in China and Korea.  Lonafarnib is a first-in-class, oral farnesyl transferase inhibitor in Phase 3 development for the treatment of hepatitis delta virus (HDV) infection.

“This method of use patent covers lonafarnib boosted with ritonavir for the treatment of hepatitis delta virus infection, including specific doses and durations that we anticipate will appear on the first approved label,” said David Cory, President and CEO of Eiger.  “We now have patent protection in the most important pharmaceutical markets in the world, which is an important milestone as we begin enrolling D-LIVR, our single, pivotal, international registration study in HDV.”