I don't follow gnsc, but this looks interesting.
Genaissance Obtains License to Vanderbilt Patent Linking Genetics to Key Drug Safety Issue
Wednesday January 26, 7:31 am ET
- Method helps identify experimental drugs that may induce life threatening cardiac arrhythmias before they are brought to market -
NEW HAVEN, Conn., Jan. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Genaissance Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: GNSC - News), a leading developer and user of genetic information to help guide medical therapy, expanded its ability to provide genetic tests for critical variants of key cardiac ion channel proteins involved in drug-induced cardiac arrhythmias. Drug-induced cardiac arrhythmias that are associated with prolongation of the QT interval on the electrocardiogram have led to the withdrawal from the market of such well- known drugs as the heartburn agent Propulsid® and the antihistamine Seldane®.
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Vanderbilt University has granted Genaissance exclusive commercial rights to U.S. Patent 6,458,542, which claims screening patients for susceptibility for drug-induced cardiac arrhythmias by testing for the presence of a common polymorphism in KCNE1, an important cardiac ion-channel gene.
"We chose Genaissance to commercialize this patented method because of its proven capability in developing a genetic test for Long QT syndrome, the FAMILION(TM) Test, and its reputation as a leader in pharmacogenetics," said Chris McKinney, Director of the Office of Technology Transfer and Enterprise Development at Vanderbilt University.
"Gaining the right to screen patients for this KCNE1 polymorphism, which increases a patient's risk of developing a drug-induced arrhythmia, is an important addition to our suite of patents with claims for testing for causes of Long QT. This is especially critical for FDA-mandated thorough QT safety trials that now occur in early stages of drug development," stated Richard Judson, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer of Genaissance. |
