Cellectar Biosciences announced today that it has received a European patent for the composition of matter and use protection for the treatment and/or diagnosis of cancer and cancer stem cells for the company’s Phase 2 lead asset CLR 131 and the proprietary PLE analogs combined with I-125 (CLR 125).

“Importantly, this patent provides additional long-term protection for our lead compound CLR 131 in the second largest global market and represents an important expansion of our intellectual property protections for our portfolio of targeted oncology product candidates,” Cellectar Biosciences CEO Jim Caruso said in a statement.

According to a release, patent number EP 2440253 is titled, “Ether and Alkyl Phospholipid Compounds for Treating Cancer and Imaging and Detection of Cancer Stem Cells.”