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Fe Pharmaceuticals Announces Issuance of New U.S. Patent for Its Lead Product, DIBI

Fe Pharmaceuticals also Announces the Appointment of Dr. Trisha Ang as VP of R&D
Key Takeaways
  • Recently issued U.S. Patent No. 12,024,490, becomes the third issued US patent protecting DIBI, its related polymers and their use.
  • This US Patent on DIBI protects the use of DIBI to arrest growth of infectious pathogens and cancer cells including in combinations with other agents.
  • Dr. Trisha Ang who helped synthesize DIBI and create a manufacturing process is appointed VP of R&D succeeding Founder Dr. Bruce Holbein who passed in March 2024

July 23, 2024, Redwood City, CA, USA – Fe Pharmaceuticals, a pioneering biotech company focused on innovative treatments for infectious diseases, is pleased to announce that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued U.S. Patent No. 12,024,490, titled "Polymeric Metal Chelating Compositions and Methods of Preparing Same for Controlling Growth and Activities of Living Cells and Organisms for Therapeutic Use in Treating Diseases in Animals, Fish or Humans," on July 2, 2024. This is the third issued US patent protecting DIBI, related polymers, and their uses.

This patent covers the use of the company’s novel drug candidate, DIBI, and related polymers, to treat serious infections and cancer, by itself or in combination with other agents. DIBI’s unique polymeric iron chelating properties are designed to arrest growth of pathogenic infections by high affinity binding of extracellular iron, on which infectious organisms are dependent. DIBI represents a significant advancement in the therapeutic landscape, offering a non-antibiotic approach to controlling serious infections involving bacterial and fungal pathogens, including those that are antimicrobial resistant (AMR). Bacteria and fungi cause pneumonias, skin and tissue infections, urinary tract infections, and gastrointestinal infections, which lead to more than 80% of all sepsis cases. DIBI interrupts these infections without the risk of drug resistance emerging because there is no mechanism to become resistant to requiring iron.

Fe Pharmaceuticals also announces the appointment of Dr. Trisha Ang as VP of Research and Development. Dr. Ang succeeds the company founder, Dr. Bruce Holbein, who passed away earlier this year. Dr. Ang and Dr. Holbein were co-inventors on this patent. Since 2016, Dr. Ang has been the lead research chemist at Fe Pharmaceuticals and was directly involved with the synthesis of DIBI and the process for cGMP industrial-scale production. Dr. Ang received her Ph.D. degree in Chemistry at Queen’s University, Canada.

"This patent is a legacy of the work of our company’s founder, Dr. Bruce Holbein, who spent decades studying the connection between iron and disease”, said Dr. Michael Weickert, CEO of Fe Pharmaceuticals. “His years of collaboration with Dr. Trisha Ang, co-inventor on DIBI patents, made her an obvious choice to succeed him and we are delighted she agreed to join us as VP of Research and Development for Fe Pharmaceuticals”.

For more information:

Michael J. Weickert - CEO, Fe Pharmaceuticals

E: mweickert@fepharm.com

P: 650-218-1840

Website: https://fepharm.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fe-pharmaceuticals/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FePharm

Twitter: @ChelationPrtnrs; https://twitter.com/ChelationPrtnrs







About DIBI
DIBI is a non-toxic, iron-binding co-polymer with potent, broad-spectrum, antimicrobial activity against fungal and bacterial infections, including those caused by antimicrobial resistant (AMR) organisms. DIBI exploits the absolute requirement of pathogens for iron to grow and reproduce. DIBI scavenges only the circulating iron required for infections and not the iron inside host cells. DIBI is non-toxic, removes iron in a manner pathogens cannot become resistant to, is very broad spectrum and very potent against even drug-resistant pathogens like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and Acinetobacter baumannii. In more than 20 peer-reviewed studies using animal models of infection, including of the ear, skin, lung, and systemic, it was effective against bacterial and fungal species, with synergistic benefits when administered with conventional anti-infective agents. In animal models of sepsis, DIBI acted synergistically with antibiotics to increase survival. Iron sequestration has applications in other diseases, and in published cancer research, DIBI inhibits cancer cell growth and acts as a strong sensitizer to conventional chemotherapy. 

About Fe Pharmaceuticals
Fe Pharmaceuticals (Canada) is a Nova Scotia, Canada based company focused on medical indications related to iron availability, including infectious and inflammatory diseases and cancer. Fe Pharmaceuticals is a US subsidiary located in the San Francisco Bay area. Fe’s lead product candidate DI


Key Takeaways
  • Recently issued U.S. Patent No. 12,024,490, becomes the third issued US patent protecting DIBI, its related polymers and their use.
  • This US Patent on DIBI protects the use of DIBI to arrest growth of infectious pathogens and cancer cells including in combinations with other agents.
  • Dr. Trisha Ang who helped synthesize DIBI and create a manufacturing process is appointed VP of R&D succeeding Founder Dr. Bruce Holbein who passed in March 2024
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This patent is a legacy of the work of our company’s founder, Dr. Bruce Holbein, who spent decades studying the connection between iron and disease...
Dr. Michael Weickert — CEO of Fe Pharmaceuticals
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Michael J. Weickert, PhD
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Contacts
Michael Weickert Ph.D
mweickert@fepharm.com
650-218-1840
Chief Executive Officer