The US Patent and Trademark Office issued two new patents to Nanogen, Inc., developer of advanced diagnostic products, for inventions related to disease biomarkers: 1) U.S. Patent No. 7,014,854:"Method for Retarding or Precluding Alzheimer's Dementia" claims use of immune system modulation to remove proteins associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD). This patent relates to a therapeutic model wherein the AD autoantibody to human glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) can be targeted with antibodies for removal from serum. The GFAP autoantibody has been demonstrated to bring on the destruction of certain nerve cells called astrocytes, leading to AD. Removal of the GFAP autoantibody eliminates the initiation of astrocyte destruction. 2) U.S. Patent No. 7,015,004: The isolation and use of a biomarker to diagnose metabolic syndrome. This patent covers the steps required to isolate the protein from body fluids such as blood, serum, saliva or urine. The patent also allows the immunological detection of the biomarker. The biomarker may be useful in the diagnosis of metabolic syndrome, a complex of symptoms including abdominal obesity and high cholesterol that is associated with the development of diabetes and cardiac disease.

"These patents are the result of discoveries that were made in our proteomics research programs," said Howard C. Birndorf, Nanogen chairman and chief executive officer. "These intellectual property assets can be leveraged by Nanogen to develop advanced diagnostic products and could be licensed by potential pharma partners who are looking for novel approaches to treat Alzheimer's disease or metabolic disorders."

Advanced technologies from Nanogen, including real-time PCR reagents, the NanoChip® electronic microarray platform and a line of rapid, point-of-care diagnostic tests, provide researchers, clinicians and physicians worldwide with improved methods and tools to predict, diagnose, and ultimately help treat disease. Source: PR Newswire

About the author: Gloria is a chemist and blogs at Straight From The Doc,The Pharm Voice, and Filipina Soul