Rosetta Genomics, a company that develops microRNA-based diagnostics, has added two new patent allowances to its intellectual property. A patent allowance is issued by a regulatory entity (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in the U.S.) when it believes an invention qualifies for a patent, but the patent is only granted after the patent process is completed and the appropriate fees are paid.
One patent allowance is for a method to predict progression of ovarian cancer in response to chemotherapy. The other is a method to diagnose malignant pleural mesothelioma based on microRNA expression. The allowances add to Rosetta’s other 62 granted or allowed patents and 33 pending patents.
The first patent allowance was issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, for U.S. Patent Application No. 12/999,201, titled “Compositions and Methods for Prognosis of Ovarian Cancer.” It covers a method based on the expression of hsa-miR-27a in ovarian cancer, to predict the progression of platinum-resistant stage III ovarian cancer in response to platinum based chemotherapy.
“Almost 20% of women who receive standard platinum- and paclitaxel-based treatment for ovarian cancer are found to be resistant to antineoplastic chemotherapy,” Kenneth A. Berlin, president and chief executive officer of Rosetta Genomics, said in a press release. “The majority of women with advanced ovarian cancer will ultimately relapse and develop drug-resistant disease, making a marker for platinum-resistant cancers particularly useful for the determination of second-line chemotherapeutic options.”
Berlin added: “This U.S. ovarian cancer prognostic patent complements a recently allowed U.S. patent covering a method of treatment for ovarian cancer through the administration of an inhibitor of miR-27a. Together these patents may be of great value in the development of new prognostic and treatment options for platinum-resistant ovarian cancer patients. Our goal is to monetize these U.S. patents and the related technology through a potential partnership.”
The second patent allowance, which corresponds to a granted patent in the U.S. (Patent No. 9,133,522), was issued by the Korean Intellectual Property Office (KIPO) for Korean Patent Application No. 2010-7007495.
Titled “Diagnosis and Prognosis of Specific Cancers,” the patent covers the use of hsa-miR-192, hsa-miR-200c, and hsa-miR-193a expression to diagnose malignant pleural mesothelioma or distinguish it from other cancers. Studies have reported that miR-200 and miR-192 families of microRNAs are lower in malignant mesothelioma than in other epithelial cancers, while members of the miR-193 appear to be higher in pleural mesothelioma.
“Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that develops from the thin layer of tissue that covers many of the internal organs, the most common kind being pleural mesothelioma, where the lining of the lungs and chest wall is affected. Greater than 80% of mesothelioma is caused by exposure to asbestos. This assay expands our robust diagnostic offering in lung cancer diagnostics and prognostics,” said Berlin in the press release.
