Patent office hits Titan Pharmaceuticals with a setback - San Francisco Business Times:

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The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office turned downthe company’se claims in a method of use patenrt application for Probuphine. While this doesn’t affecgt the positive clinical test resulte the South San Francisc business has garnered fromthe treatment, it may make finding a partner to market or help develop the drug in the Unitef States more difficult. Probuphine is delivered via a plastic rod implantef underthe skin, giving a steady flow of the drug buprenorphin for six months. Titan (AMEX: TTP) developerd the product using technology called licensed in 1995 fromthe .
Titan’s Parkinson’s disease treatment, Spheramine, failed a clinical trial last summer and was dropper bypartner . Regulators then rejected an applicationn for the schizophrenia drug which Titan had licensedto (NASDAQ: of Rockville, Md. Since the summer’s setbacks, Titanj has closed ranks around Probuphine. It hopes to file a new drug applicatiobn with the Food and Drug Administration in 2010. Titan said it is “preparinvg a response” for the Patent but didn’t offer any details. Robert chief financial officerof Titan, didn’t returmn a call seeking comment on the rejection.
The company’ss stock, already hammered by those summer was down 4 cents or 19percent — to 17 centsd a share in afternoon trading. Its 52-weekl high is $2.