NFL BIOSCIENCES: Notice of allowance of its patent in China
NFL BIOSCIENCES (Euronext Growth Paris – FR0014003XT0 – ALNFL), a biopharmaceutical company developing botanical drugs for the treatment of addictions, is announcing that it has received the notice of allowance from the Chinese National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) for issuing its patent (Chinese application no.201780033409.5) for NFL-101, a nicotine-free botanical drug candidate comprising natural proteins extracted from tobacco leaves, focused primarily on smoking cessation. This patent will protect the innovation that NFL-101 is based on through to 2036 in China.
NFL Biosciences has adopted a knowledge management and protection strategy that led it to submit two patent families granting it exclusive rights to its drug candidate NFL-101. This product patent, initially registered and approved in France, concerns an “aqueous extract of tobacco leaves and its use for the treatment of dependence”. The innovation that NFL-101 is based on is therefore protected through to 2036 in France and the United States, with China to follow soon. National registration applications are also in the review phase in the following regions and countries: Japan, Canada, South Korea, Australia, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Israel, Mexico, Philippines, Eurasia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Nigeria.
China is the country with the highest number of smokers worldwide, at over 300 million people, and around 50% of its male population smoke. If no action is taken, it is expected to see a 44% increase in smoking-related cancer deaths among men between 2020 and 2040, representing an excess mortality of 8.6 million deaths in 20 years1. Reducing smoking therefore involves significant stakes for the entire country and is an integral part of the Healthy China initiative, which aims to improve the Chinese population’s health and is targeting a 20% reduction in the overall smoking rate by 2030 for instance.
“Nearly one of every three cigarettes smoked worldwide is smoked in China. Having a product patent will give us a strong level of protection as we move forward with our strategy over the coming years. This patent further strengthens the protection of the innovation behind our drug candidate NFL-101 in China, which is one of the core target markets with the global approach rolled out by NFL Biosciences. It was very important for us to have robust intellectual property in place on this high-potential market”, confirms Bruno Lafont, Chief Operating Officer and co-founder of NFL Biosciences.
About NFL Biosciences
NFL Biosciences is a biopharmaceutical company based in the Montpellier area which develops botanical drug candidates for the treatment of addictions. NFL Biosciences' ambition is to bring new, natural, safer and more effective therapeutic solutions to the entire world population, including low- and middle-income countries. Its most advanced product, called NFL-101, is a standardized, nicotine-free tobacco leaf extract protected by two patent families. NFL Biosciences intends to offer smokers who want to quit a natural, safe, easy-to-administer and personalized alternative. NFL Biosciences is also developing NFL-301, a natural drug candidate for the reduction of alcohol consumption and has a drug development project for the treatment of cannabis use disorders.
The shares of NFL Biosciences are listed on Euronext Growth Paris (FR0014003XT0 – ALNFL). Find out more at www.nflbiosciences.com
Contacts
Bruno Lafont – info@nflbiosciences.com - +33 4 11 93 76 67 Agence Calyptus – nflbio@calyptus.net - +33 1 53 65 68 68
1 “Smoking-related cancer death among men and women in an ageing society (China 2020–2040): a population-based modelling study”, Sept. 2021: https://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/early/2021/09/01/tobaccocontrol-2020-056444
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