Nanogen gets patents for therapeutic, diagnostic biomarkers

By Elaine Rigoli

Tampa, Fla., April 17 - Nanogen, Inc. has been issued two patents by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for inventions related to disease biomarkers.

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.

The patent relates to a therapeutic model wherein the Alzheimer's disease autoantibody to human glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) can be targeted with antibodies for removal from serum, according to a company news release.

The GFAP autoantibody has been demonstrated to bring on the destruction of certain nerve cells called astrocytes, which Nanogen said may lead to Alzheimer's disease.

Removal of the GFAP autoantibody eliminates the initiation of astrocyte destruction, the release said.

An unrelated patent, U.S. Patent No. 7,015,004, relates to the isolation and use of a biomarker to diagnose metabolic syndrome.

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," chairman and chief executive officer Howard C. Birndorf said in the release.

"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," he added.

Nanogen, a developer of diagnostic products and tools, is located in San Diego.

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