Pitt innovators were issued five U.S. patents in August 2026.
Featured patent: 12,715,902 “Methods of Treating Cancers Containing Fusion Genes”
Inside every cell, genetic instructions have to be “edited” before the cell can use them to build proteins. This editing process is called splicing, and it depends on specialized proteins to do the job correctly. Sometimes, a mutation damages one of these editing proteins, causing it to make mistakes. Those mistakes can lead to abnormal, misshapen proteins. This kind of damage shows up in several types of cancer. Because these abnormal proteins only appear in cancer cells, and not in healthy cells, they make excellent targets: the immune system can be trained to attack them without harming normal tissue. Pitt innovators led by Udai Kammula, professor of surgery, found two genes that, when added to a donor’s immune cells, allow those cells to recognize and attack this specific abnormal protein. Importantly, the newly equipped cells ignore the normal, healthy version of the protein — they only go after the mutated one. This mutation shows up in eye melanoma, a type of leukemia, a group of bone marrow disorders, and breast cancer, meaning the same approach could help patients across several different diseases.
Why it’s promising:
- It attacks only the mutated protein, leaving the healthy version alone
- It could apply to several different types of cancer, not just one
- No other treatment currently targets this specific mutation
Dr. Kammula leads the solid tumor cell therapy program at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, where he and his team run one of the few programs in the world that offers a treatment called TIL therapy, where doctors remove immune cells from inside a patient’s own tumor, grow millions more of them in the lab, and then give them back to the patient to fight the cancer. This new patent builds on the premise of using a patient’s immune system to attack their own tumor, but with a different approach.
Below is a listing of all patents issued to Pitt innovators in August 2026:
| Patent Number | Title | Inventor(s) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12,702,667 | Focal Adhesion Kinase Inhibitor as a Therapeutic Agent in Diabetes | Farzad Esni; Jing Hu | Available for Licensing |
| 12,703,760 | Molecules That Bind to CD66e Polypeptides | Dimiter Dimitrov; Dusan Baek; John Mellors | Available for Licensing |
| 12,709,780 | Spatially Selective Electromagnetic Field Assisted Processing of bulk Crystalline Soft Magnetic Alloys | Ahmed Talaat; Paul Ohodnicki | Available for Licensing |
| 12,710,580 | Fiberoptic Cable Light Cord Safety Cover | Alexandra Delazio; Benjamin Ristau; John Holmes; Steven Docimo; William Clark | Available for Licensing |
| 12,715,902 | T Cell Receptors Targeting Defective DNA Repair Proteins | Chetana Bhaskaria; Ghanshyam Yadav; Udai Kammula | Available for Licensing |