Transgene announced that the Japan Patent Office has officially allowed the patent of company’s oncolytic virus (OV) backbone VVcopTK-RR- that encodes one or more immune checkpoint inhibitor(s) (ICIs). This authorization in Japan follows similar patent grants obtained in several key other geographies including the US and Europe, providing broad protection of this technology in the key pharmaceutical markets globally. These patents protect Transgene’s VVcopTK-RR- backbone encoding one or several ICIs until 2035. VVcopTK-RR- is a large capacity Vaccinia virusCopenhagen strain genetically modified with the double deletion TK-RR- which restricts the viral replication to tumor cells only. This proprietary backbone is the basis of company’s Invir.IO™ platform. Candidates based on this viral design aim to stimulate an immune response locally in the tumor and to optimize the safety profile of the virus. The new Japanese patent provides further IP by protecting this proprietary oncolytic virus when it encodes one or more ICI(s), a type of immunotherapy already approved and used in several cancer therapies. The company has already obtained patent grants for this new technology in the US, Europe, Australia, Hong Kong, Israel, and Russia. In addition, applications are pending in Canada and in China.