U.S. Patent No. 11,098,998 B2
- Issued: April 20, 2021
- Assignee: Amgen Research (Munich) GmbH (an Amgen subsidiary)
- Patent Focus: A bispecific single‑chain antibody designed to bind two antigens and work across species.
What This Patent Covers
This patent protects a single‑chain bispecific antibody construct — a specially engineered protein that:
- Combines two different antigen‑binding sites into one single‑chain format.
- Is designed to function across multiple species (e.g., in research models and humans), enabling more efficient preclinical evaluation and potential therapeutic use.
- Improves on traditional antibody formats (which are often larger and require pairing of separate polypeptide chains) by integrating two binding functions in one molecule.
Such bispecific antibodies can simultaneously engage two different biological targets (e.g., a tumor cell antigen and an immune cell receptor), which is valuable in fields like cancer immunotherapy, autoimmune disease treatment, and precision biologics.
Why It’s Important
1. Reflects Amgen’s Leadership in Antibody Engineering
Amgen is a major player in advanced biologics including monoclonal and bispecific antibodies. Bispecifics are a high‑growth class of therapeutics because they can bring immune cells into contact with cancer cells, block multiple disease pathways at once, or simultaneously modulate two signaling mechanisms.
2. Platform‑Level Technology
This patent isn’t limited to one drug — it covers a general approach to making bispecific single‑chain antibodies that can bind across species. That can accelerate preclinical research and be applied to multiple therapeutic programs (e.g., oncology, immunology) beyond a specific product.
3. Commercial and Strategic Value
- Bispecific antibodies have become a commercially valuable biologics category with drugs like Amgen’s own Blincyto® (a bispecific T‑cell engager) and competitors’ products gaining traction.
- Capturing broad IP on formats and cross‑species utility helps protect future drug candidates and supports Amgen’s competitiveness in biologics innovation.
4. Enhances IP Portfolio Against Biosimilars
Strong process and molecule patents like this help Amgen maintain exclusivity and defend therapies from biosimilar or competing antibody constructs in the marketplace.
Summary
- Patent: U.S. Patent No. 11,098,998 B2
- Issued: April 20, 2021
- Assignee: Amgen Research (Munich) GmbH
- Focus: Bispecific single‑chain antibody constructs capable of binding two targets across species for research and therapeutic use.
- Importance: Secures key intellectual property in the bispecific antibody therapeutic space, supporting both product development and platform technologies central to Amgen’s biologics strategy (e.g., cancer immunotherapy, multispecific biologics), and underpins valuable biologic modalities in the company’s pipeline and portfolio.
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