May 3, 2016: Australia-based Prima BioMed Ltd has announced that the company has been granted patent number 5908210 entitled 'Use of Recombinant LAG-3 or the Derivatives thereof for Eliciting Monocyte Immune Response' by the Japanese Patent Office.

The company says that this patent relates to Prima's IMP321 and its use either alone, or in combination, for immunotherapeutic or chemotherapeutic purposes to induce an increase in circulating monocyte numbers in order to protect against cancer.

Prima further indicates that this patent will therefore support the use of IMP321 as it is being used in the company's AIPAC trial in metastatic breast cancer. Patent expiry is expected to be October 3, 2028.