WARMINSTER, Pa., Aug. 30, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Arbutus Biopharma Corporation (Nasdaq: ABUS), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company leveraging its extensive virology expertise to develop novel therapeutics that target specific viral diseases, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued U.S. Patent No. 11,427,823, which provides composition of matter patent protection for Arbutus' AB-729 RNAi therapeutic product. The patent is expected to provide Arbutus with exclusivity for AB-729 out to at least April 2038. "We are pleased to be granted this key patent by the USPTO which expands our intellectual property estate and adds a level of protection for a fundamental asset of our chronic hepatitis B virus (cHBV) portfolio," said William Collier, President and Chief Executive Officer of Arbutus Biopharma.