FC-Interferon-Beta Fusion Proteins
AssigneeMerck Patent GmbH
InventorsStephen D. Gillies, Nigel John Watkins, Matthew Paul Baker, Kin-Ming Lo, Steven C. Degon
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Abstract
Disclosed are Fc-interferon-beta (Fc-IFN-β) fusion proteins and nucleic acid molecules encoding them. The Fc-IFN-β fusion proteins include variants of the interferon-beta (IFN-β) protein that are altered to achieve enhanced biological activity, prolonged circulating half-life and greater solubility. Also disclosed are methods of producing the fusion proteins and methods of using the fusion proteins and/or nucleic acid molecules for treating diseases and conditions alleviated by the administration of interferon-beta.
Claims18
An Fc-interferon-β fusion protein comprising:
- an immunoglobulin Fc region;
- and
- a human interferon-β protein linked by a peptide bond or a peptide linker sequence to the carboxy-terminus of the immunoglobulin Fc region,
- wherein the interferon-β protein comprises SEQ ID NO:
- 2 and has the following substitutions:
- Cl7S, F50H, H131A, and either H140A or H140T.
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Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.