KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Provectus Biopharmaceuticals, Inc., a clinical-stage oncology and dermatology biopharmaceutical company, today announced in a press release that it has received a Notice of Allowance from the US Patent and Trademark Office covering additional aspects of its process for synthesizing halogenated xanthenes, the family of compound to which rose bengal belongs. The allowed claims cover use of certain halogenated xanthenes in pharmaceutical compositions and as medicaments.

Eric Wachter, CTO of Provectus, explained, "The allowed subject matter originates from a divisional application, or so-called 'daughter' case, derived from the original, 'parent' case that led to issuance of U.S. Patent 8,530,675 in September, 2013. That parent case covers our novel process for synthesizing rose bengal and related analogs. This daughter case confers protection to use of a wide range of those analogs in or as therapeutic products. This subject matter was described in the parent filing, but since it covers a different patent classification than that which formed the basis for the initial set of claims issued in the '675 patent, it was necessary to seek protection as a divisional application. This allowance represents complementary protection to that afforded by the '675 patent."

Wachter continued, "Since the daughter case covers pharmaceutical use of novel rose bengal analogs that can be made using our patented synthesis process, it provides a significant potential commercial lifetime for these analogs. Such patent strategy is common in our industry, building on original innovation by allowing value to be derived from next generation pharmaceutical products, thereby driving further innovation."

Peter Culpepper, Interim CEO of Provectus, remarked, "This patent allowance speaks to the first and second pillars in our value proposition: our intellectual property and our control of the drug supply chain. We have a robust portfolio of patents related to the production of PV-10, and this allowance extends the value of that to potential future products that build on the work we've put into PV-10."

Culpepper added, "Earlier this year, we received US Patent No. 9,273,022, which extends the scope of protection of the manufacturing process conferred by our September 2013 patent to include coverage of the use of alternative raw material in manufacturing halogenated xanthenes, including rose bengal, the active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) in PV-10. That patent, which is wholly owned by Provectus and conferring coverage to at least 2031, provides further protection around our proposed commercial process for manufacturing PV-10. Investigational drug product generated using this proprietary technology is being used in all ongoing clinical trials of PV-10, including the pivotal phase 3 trial in melanoma (NCT02288897)."