Navidea Biopharmaceuticals (NYSE:NAVB) announced today that it received a patent for its dextran-based drug delivery vehicles.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued U.S. patent 11,007,272 entitled “Compounds and Methods for Diagnosis and Treatment of Viral Infections,” with protection to October 7, 2037, according to a news release.

Dublin, Ohio-based Navidea’s patent protects the use of the company’s mannosylated dextran-based drug delivery vehicles designed for delivering small molecule therapeutic payloads as possible therapies for diseases caused by flaviviruses, which include those that cause dengue, yellow fever and Zika.

Navidea’s mannosylated dextran-based drug delivery vehicles deliver potent drugs to the cells where the virus is multiplying, targeting specific macrophages that replicate.

“Our targeted therapeutics have the potential to address the large unmet medical need caused by flaviviruses given deficiencies in current therapies and/or vaccines,” Navidea CMO Dr. Michael Rosol said in the release. “The technology covered in this patent could also have implications for possible treatments of other infectious diseases where our platform might have an impact, including HIV and hepatitis C.”