Kosan Announces Issuance of a U.S. Patent for the Production of Polyketides in Plants
HAYWARD, Calif--(BW HealthWire)--July 19, 2001--Kosan Biosciences Incorporated (Nasdaq:KOSN - news) announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued U.S. Patent No. 6,262,340 to Kosan. This patent claims methods for producing polyketides in plants to protect the plants against disease and infestation. The patent includes claims for methods of producing 6-methylsalicylic acid (6-MSA), a congener of a natural signal that initiates a powerful defense response in plants.
``Because many polyketides were naturally evolved by microorganisms to ward off predators, it makes good sense to use them for the same purpose in plants. In addition, plants could someday serve as economical production factories for this valuable class of pharmaceuticals,'' said Brian Metcalf, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Kosan. ``The issuance of this patent provides Kosan important intellectual property in the rapidly emerging and potentially very large field of crop protection via bioengineering,'' said Kevin Kaster, Kosan's Vice President of Intellectual Property. ``Scientists at Pioneer-Hybrid International have recently shown that the polyketide 6-MSA increases resistance to viral infection in plants bioengineered to express that polyketide,'' he noted. |
