CBTE up on news,
Commonwealth Biotechnologies, Inc. Receives Notice of Allowance for Sepsis Patent
Wednesday January 28, 1:57 pm ET
Company Also Announces New Updates to its Patent Portfolio
RICHMOND, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 28, 2004--Commonwealth Biotechnologies, Inc. (NASDAQ SmallCap Market:CBTE - News), a life sciences contract research organization and biotechnology company, was notified today by the United States Patent and Trademark Office that the claims made in its Patent Application, entitled "Adsorption and Removal of Endotoxin from Physiological Fluids using Cationic Helix Peptides," have been allowed in their entirety. A Notice of Allowance from the Patent Office is usually the prelude to near-term patent issuance.
The incidence of sepsis in the United States is approximately 500,000 cases per year of which the mortality incidence ranges from 35 to 65%. Despite the most modern of intensive life support measures, this means that 150,000 to 300,000 people die each year in the United States from endotoxic shock (sepsis) and it is estimated that the cost in treating these patients is $5 to $10 billion dollars, annually. Endotoxins derived from bacteria are potent stimulators of the production and release of pro-inflammatory mediators, the cumulative effects of which are disseminated intravascular coagulation, multiple organ failure, and very often, death.
In the course of its work in binding negatively charged target molecules, CBI designed, synthesized, and tested a family of positively charged peptides which possess potent endotoxin binding activity. The consequence of binding is that endotoxin is quantitatively sequestered from a plasma or aqueous test solution. CBI's patent protects the structures of these peptides and their potential use as a diagnostic to detect the presence of endotoxin in physiological fluids, including plasma, saliva, urine, feces, or in tissue samples, or in using the peptides to bind endotoxin in dialysis type treatments, or in using the peptides to bind endotoxin in vivo as a singular or conjunctive therapy for removing endotoxin from the circulation.
"This discovery emanates from our Biological Chemistry group, headed by Dr. Russ Wolz," said Dr. Robert B. Harris, co-inventor and President and CEO of CBI, "and is testament to the creativity and expertise resident in our scientists. While at an early stage, CBI anticipates that this invention will gain the attention of potential development partners, many of which are actively searching for effective sepsis treatments."
In other news concerning its intellectual property portfolio, CBI announced that its patent entitled "Measuring Viral Reverse Transcriptase Activity" issued December 16, 2003, under US patent number 6,664,065. Also, the Japanese Patent Office issued patent number 3,472,513 in September, 2003 to CBI for HepArrest(TM), CBI's unique heparin reversal agent.
As with the other intellectual properties in its portfolio, CBI's plan is to out-license its new technology, while focusing its day-to-day operations on its core business in bio-defense, clinical laboratory support, and comprehensive platform technology contracts.
About CBI |
