Greenland Mines Secures Australian Patent for Klotho-Based Gene Therapy Targeting ALS and Neuromuscular Diseases
核心洞察
IP Australia has granted Patent No. 2023252508 to Greenland Mines for a Klotho (搜索) protein-expressing gene therapy targeting motor impairment in neuromuscular diseases.
The patent covers muscle-cell specific promoter technology linked to the human Klotho (搜索) s-KL gene, including AAV and non-viral vector delivery systems.
The company's lead candidate, KLTO-202, is being advanced toward clinical development with ALS as the primary indication.
Greenland Mines Ltd (搜索) (Nasdaq: GRML) announced on July 10, 2026, that IP Australia has granted Australian Patent No. 2023252508, entitled "Treatment of Neuromuscular Diseases via Gene Therapy that Expresses Klotho (搜索) Protein," covering technology exclusively licensed by the company's Biotech Division. The patented technology was invented by researchers at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and collaborating institutions, and it further expands the company's growing global intellectual property estate supporting its Klotho-based therapeutic platform.
The issued patent protects the use of a human gene therapy employing a muscle-cell specific promoter operatively linked to a nucleic acid gene sequence encoding the human Klotho (搜索) s-KL protein for treating motor impairment. The patent's claims encompass neuronal cells and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) containing the muscle-cell specific promoter and s-KL nucleic acid gene sequence, as well as cellular delivery systems including adeno-associated viral vectors (AAV) and non-viral vectors with muscle-cell and/or motor neuron-cell tropism.
Scientific Rationale and Therapeutic Potential
Dr. Joseph Sinkule, the company's founder and CEO, articulated the scientific premise underlying the program: "Over the past three years, we have advanced KLTO-202 around a simple but compelling scientific premise—that restoring or supplementing human Klotho (搜索) expression may help address the underlying biology of ALS and other debilitating neuromuscular diseases." He added that a growing body of research has demonstrated the critical role Klotho plays in neuronal health, muscle function, aging, and cellular resilience.
The patent strengthens the intellectual property protecting the company's approach and provides an important foundation as KLTO-202 advances toward clinical development. "We believe Klotho (搜索) has the potential to represent an entirely new therapeutic paradigm for treating motor neuron diseases," Dr. Sinkule stated.
Disease Landscape
Neuromuscular diseases encompass a broad range of conditions, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (搜索) (ALS), spinal muscular atrophy (搜索) (SMA), Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (搜索), multiple sclerosis (搜索), muscular dystrophies (搜索), peripheral neuropathies, traumatic nerve injury, age-related muscular atrophy, and numerous other neuromuscular and motor neuron disorders. KLTO-202's primary indication is ALS.
Corporate Context
Greenland Mines Ltd (搜索) operates two divisions: a Mining division focused on rare earth and precious metals exploration in Greenland, and a Biotech division centered on the Klotho (搜索)-based therapeutic platform. The company is listed on Nasdaq under the ticker GRML.