Dare Bioscience stock rises after receiving HPV treatment patent
Investing.com -- Dare Bioscience Inc (NASDAQ: DARE) shares rose 2.8% on Monday following the announcement that the company received a new U.S. patent for its HPV treatment program.
The patent expands the intellectual property foundation for DARE-HPV, the company's investigational proprietary fixed-dose formulation of lopinavir and ritonavir in a soft gel vaginal insert being developed as a potential treatment for persistent high-risk human papillomavirus infection. Dare holds an exclusive U.S. license to the patent under its 2023 license agreement with Douglas Pharmaceuticals Limited.
DARE-HPV is currently being evaluated in a Phase 2 randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical study in approximately 100 women with confirmed persistent high-risk HPV infection. The study is designed to evaluate the safety and antiviral activity of lower and higher doses of DARE-HPV compared with placebo over an up to 21-day course of daily treatment, with HPV clearance at three months post-treatment as the primary endpoint. Topline results are expected in 2027.
The program is supported by approximately $10 million in non-dilutive funding from the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health as Sprint for Women's Health awardee, and a $2.0 million award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases of the National Institutes of Health.
There are currently no FDA-approved pharmacologic treatments for HPV infection. An estimated six million women per year in the United States experience high-risk HPV infection.