Galectin Therapeutics announced that it has received a notice of allowance from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for patent application number 13/550,962 titled 'Galactose-Pronged Polysaccharides in a Formulation for Anti-fibrotic Therapies'. The patent covers both composition claim for and uses of the company's carbohydrate-based galectin inhibitor compound GR-MD-02 for use in patients with liver fibrosis in combination with other potential therapeutic agents. The patent covers use of GR-MD-02 with agents directed at multiple targets, some of which are currently in clinical development for fibrotic disorders including monoclonal antibodies to connective tissue growth factor, integrins, and TGF-1. This patent provides additional coverage in the U.S. for the use of GR-MD-02 in combination with other potential anti-fibrotic agents in the treatment of liver fibrosis.

In the future, liver fibrosis could be treated with a combination of agents, and this patent provides important intellectual property for this possibility.