Uruguayan researchers obtain patent under PCT

By Pittaluga Abogados

A team of Uruguayan researchers from the Faculties of Chemistry and Medicine of the public University of the Republic has been granted in Australia a patent for a vaccine adjuvant based on natural products.

The invention relates to the composition, preparation and use of a formulation as an adjuvant for human or animal use, said formulation comprising at least one bile acid or the salts thereof and saponin, in order to enhance the immune response against an antigen, which may or may not be well defined, including but not limited to bacterins, antigens and antigenic preparations that are viral, bacterial or parasitic, and antigens associated with diseases such as different types of cancer.

Under the name "Vaccination adjuvant, and preparation and vaccines containing same", the patent application was filed in 2013 under the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), which assists applicants in seeking patent protection internationally for their inventions by filing one international patent application in a large number of countries.

At the end of 2016 Australia granted the patent, enabling professor Fernando Ferreira (head of the team of researchers), to now work in partnership with pharmaceuticals Virbac and Santa Elena-Virbac in the development of the vaccines, allowing their commercialization.