April  16, 2010 (FinancialWire) — Xoma Ltd. (NASDAQ: XOMA) said the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued two new patents that significantly expand the company's intellectual property portfolio relating to its anti-inflammatory antibody, Xoma 052, that targets interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta).

One of the patents covers methods of treating Type 2 diabetes with high affinity antibodies and antibody fragments that bind to IL-1 beta, including Xoma 052. The high affinity antibodies, such as Xoma 052, offer potential advantages in Type 2 diabetes because they may provide greater potency, less frequent dosing, reduced dose levels, and manufacturing efficiencies.

Additional claims in this patent relate to methods of reducing or preventing complications or conditions associated with Type 2 diabetes including retinopathy, renal failure, wound healing and cardiovascular disease, with these high affinity IL-1 beta antibodies. The patent also includes claims that relate to methods of treatment of Type 2 diabetes with high affinity IL-1 beta antibodies in conjunction with additional agents.

A second patent covers methods of treating IL-1 related inflammatory diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis, with Xoma 052 and other antibodies and antibody fragments with similar binding properties for human interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta).

The patents expire in 2027 (U.S. 7,695,718) and 2026 (U.S. 7,695,717), respectively. With these patents, the intellectual property portfolio for Xoma 052 includes four issued patents in the U.S. and one granted patent in Europe. Additional applications are pending in the U.S. and other countries.

Xoma discovers, develops and manufactures novel antibody therapeutics for its own proprietary pipeline as well as through license and collaborative agreements with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and under its contracts with the U.S. government.

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