Lantern Pharma Secures USPTO Notice of Allowance for Biomarker-Guided Patent on LP-184 in Multiple Solid Tumors
Key Insights
The USPTO issued a Notice of Allowance for patent claims covering a three-gene expression signature — PTGR1 (search), PTPN14 (search), and ASPH (search) — to identify patients for LP-184 (zirdafulven) treatment.
LP-184 demonstrated a 45% disease control rate among 29 patients with recurrent or refractory advanced cancers treated at or above the effective therapeutic dose in a completed 63-patient Phase 1a trial.
The allowed claims cover methods for selecting and treating patients with ovarian, primary liver, kidney, or thyroid cancer (search) based on elevated expression of the three-gene biomarker.
Lantern Pharma Inc. (NASDAQ: LTRN), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company leveraging artificial intelligence and genomic data to develop targeted cancer therapies, announced on July 23, 2026, that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a Notice of Allowance for U.S. Patent Application No. 17/230,821, titled "Methods for the Treatment of Solid Tumor Cancers Using Illudins and Biomarkers." The allowed claims cover the use of a three-gene expression signature to guide treatment with the company's investigational drug LP-184 (zirdafulven), marking a significant step in biomarker-driven precision oncology.
The patent allowance arrives on the heels of encouraging clinical data. In a completed 63-patient Phase 1a trial, LP-184 achieved a 45% disease control rate among 29 patients with recurrent or refractory advanced solid tumors who were treated at or above the effective therapeutic dose. Lantern Pharma now plans to evaluate LP-184 in multiple precision oncology Phase 1b/2 clinical trials targeting advanced aggressive and rare cancers during 2026.
The Three-Gene Biomarker Signature
The allowed patent claims specifically cover methods of selecting and treating patients with ovarian, primary liver, kidney, or thyroid cancer (search) with LP-184 based on measured elevated expression of three genes — PTGR1 (search), PTPN14 (search), and ASPH (search) — in a patient tumor sample. This biomarker-guided approach represents a novel strategy for identifying patients most likely to benefit from LP-184 therapy.
"PTGR1 (search) is unique in that it sits on both sides of the equation — it is associated with aggressive tumor biology, and it is the enzyme that activates LP-184 inside the tumor cell," said Kishor Bhatia, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Lantern Pharma. "Combining it with PTPN14 (search) and ASPH (search) gives us a selection signature that leverages additional features of tumors that either make them aggressive by impacting proliferation, as in the case of ASPH, or are part of parallel pathways that confer sensitivity to LP-184, as is the case of PTPN14."
Dr. Bhatia further emphasized the strategic importance of the patent allowance: "The allowance recognizes that this biomarker signature is a unique approach, and we expect this to help us increase the likelihood of response and benefit for patients in our clinical trials."
AI-Guided Precision Medicine Approach
Lantern's proprietary RADR® artificial intelligence platform played a central role in LP-184's development, identifying prostaglandin reductase-1 (PTGR1 (search)) overexpression and low expression of multiple DNA damage repair (DDR) genes as strong predictors of LP-184 sensitivity. LP-184 functions as a prodrug that is selectively activated inside cancer cells by PTGR1, which is frequently overexpressed in tumors. Upon activation, LP-184 forms a highly reactive metabolite that damages the DNA of the cancer cell and induces interstrand cross-links and double-strand breaks — damage that cannot be repaired in tumors with deficient DDR pathways, resulting in selective cancer-cell death while sparing normal cells.
Clinical Progress and Regulatory Designations
LP-184 is a next-generation acylfulvene that is synthetically lethal and designed to selectively target solid tumors with DNA damage repair pathway deficiencies. The compound has demonstrated nanomolar potency in preclinical models and encouraging durability in early clinical testing in heavily pre-treated patients. LP-184 has received FDA Fast Track Designation for triple-negative breast cancer (search) (TNBC) and glioblastoma (search) (GBM), as well as Orphan Drug Designation for malignant gliomas (search), pancreatic cancer (search), and atypical teratoid rhabdoid tumor (search) (ATRT).
Lantern Pharma intends to continue expanding its patent portfolio through additional filings covering further indications and biomarker-guided applications of LP-184. The company has also made available an "Inside The Data" webinar featuring management and a Key Opinion Leader from Fox Chase Cancer Center, providing a comprehensive review of LP-184's mechanism of action, detailed Phase 1a clinical data, patient case studies, and the company's development strategy.