Compositions and Methods for Inducing Immune Responses

Assignee: Arcturus Therapeutics, Inc.
Patent Number: US 12390524 B2
Filed: July 12, 2023
Issued: August 19, 2025
Inventors: Sean Michael Sullivan, Daiki Matsuda, Kiyoshi Tachikawa, Padmanabh Chivukula, Priya Prakash Karmali, Jared Henry Davis, Yanjie Bao

What This Patent Covers

US 12390524 B2 protects nucleic acid‑based vaccine compositions and related delivery technology designed to induce immune responses against viral antigens. The core of the patent includes:

Nucleic acid constructs that encode both viral replication proteins and antigenic proteins or fragments thereof, enabling expression of antigens inside cells to trigger an immune response.
Pharmaceutical compositions comprising these nucleic acid constructs together with lipid delivery systems (e.g., lipid nanoparticles) that facilitate efficient cellular delivery of the vaccine payload.
Methods of inducing immune responses in subjects by administering these compositions, including vaccines intended to stimulate protective immunity against infectious pathogens.

This patent thus covers both the therapeutic nucleic acid sequences and the delivery compositions — a combination fundamental to self‑amplifying mRNA (sa‑mRNA) vaccine technologies like Arcturus’s STARR® platform, which is used in its pandemic influenza and COVID‑19 vaccine efforts.

Why This Patent Is Important

Core to Vaccine Programs: Arcturus’s lead vaccine candidates — including sa‑mRNA vaccines for influenza (e.g., ARCT‑2304) and its KOSTAIVE® COVID‑19 vaccine — depend on nucleic acid constructs and delivery approaches that fall within this patent’s scope.

Commercial Leverage: Vaccines induced by these compositions have wide global demand and government interest (e.g., for pandemic preparedness), enhancing the patent’s market value and licensing potential.

Platform Protection: By covering both encoding elements and delivery formulations, this patent helps form a protective IP moat around Arcturus’s STARR® and LUNAR® platforms, which are central to its product pipeline.

Strategic Timing: Issuing in August 2025, this patent strengthens Arcturus’s patent estate in a key year for its pipeline advancement and regulatory milestones (e.g., global sa‑mRNA vaccine approvals and fast‑track designations).

US 12390524 B2 is one of Arcturus’s most important patents active in 2025 because it covers fundamental vaccine constructs and delivery compositions that drive the company’s self‑amplifying mRNA vaccine platforms — assets with large commercial and public health value in a post‑pandemic era.

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