OncoMax, a project company of the Russian Venture Company (RVC), has received a patent on its humanized monoclonal antibody for treating renal cell carcinoma, the RVC reports. The patent reportedly also covers the use of the medicine for preventing tumor growth and diagnostics of malignant tumors.

The patent for the invention significantly strengthens protection of the company’s intellectual property in Russia. The company will now enjoy exclusive rights on the medicine for target therapy of renal cell carcinoma, designated OM-RCA-01.

OncoMax has also received approval on another patent, specifically for its fibroblast growth receptor blocking method to prevent tumor growth. The company has made certain international legal claims in the US and Europe; its international patent request, submitted in 2009, is currently undergoing expertise there in accordance with local requirements.

The biotechnological company OncoMax is the first project which was financed jointly by the venture fund Maxwell Biotech, set up with participation of the Russian Venture Company, and the RVC Seed Fund. In April 2011 OncoMax became a resident of the Skolkovo innovation center’s biomed cluster. In 2011 the company raised $1m from the Skolkovo Foundation.

Earlier Marchmont wrote in detail about OncoMax’s project (see feature story OncoMax’s Anti-Cancer Drug Passes Pre-clinical Trials of September 21, 2011).