Cereno Scientific (Nasdaq First North: CRNO B), a pioneering biotech developing innovative treatments to enhance and extend life, today announced strengthened patent protection for its lead drug candidate CS1 in Canada through the approval of a patent in the third patent family. The grant further reinforces the intellectual property position of CS1 in a strategically important pharmaceutical market and support the long-term commercial potential of the program.
The Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) has granted a patent within the third patent family of CS1, titled “Delayed Release Pharmaceutical Formulations Comprising Valproic Acid, and Uses Thereof”, patent number 3,018,043. The grant represents the third approved patent in Canada across all patent families and further expands the patent protection surrounding CS1.
“As we continue advancing CS1 toward initiation of a Phase IIb trial, strengthening our intellectual property position remains an important priority. The patent portfolio further reinforces the long-term value of the program and support future commercial and partnering opportunities,” said Sten R. Sörensen, CEO of Cereno Scientific.
The intellectual property portfolio for CS1 comprises three patent families. Across these families, patents have been granted in several major pharmaceutical markets, including Australia, Europe, Israel, Japan, Canada, Brazil, Malaysia, Mexico, South Korea, India and the US. The granted patents provide protection for CS1 through 2035 and 2037, excluding potential patent extension of up to 5 years, depending on the patent family. Additional patent applications remain under examination in multiple territories and have the potential to further strengthen market exclusivity globally. Furthermore, additional patent applications have been filed based on clinical observations from the completed Phase IIa study of CS1 in pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). Together with the existing patent portfolio, these applications have the potential to extend market exclusivity for CS1 in PAH until 2045–2046.
CS1 is an investigational HDAC inhibitor that acts through epigenetic modulation and is being developed as a well-tolerated oral once-daily treatment with a favorable safety profile and disease-modifying effects for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). The program is currently advancing toward the initiation of a Phase IIb trial, planned for June 2026. The upcoming study builds on encouraging results from the completed Phase IIa trial, in which CS1 demonstrated a favorable safety and tolerability profile together with efficacy signals suggesting improvements in right heart function, functional class and patient quality of life. The data also provided early signs consistent with reverse vascular remodeling, supporting CS1's potential as a disease-modifying treatment that may address underlying drivers of PAH progression.