Subject: RACE FOR MAD COW GOLD LANDS USA PATENT Genesis' portfolio company Prion Developmental Laboratories
Date: January 31, 2006 at 1:04 pm PST
Genesis' mad-cow test awarded U.S. patent
NEW YORK, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Genesis Bioventures said Tuesday its rapid test for mad cow disease has been awarded a U.S. patent.
The test, known as the Rapid Prion-Detection Assay, was developed by Genesis' portfolio company Prion Developmental Laboratories. The patent covers the use of this method of testing for all transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in animals and humans.
"This is a pivotal patent for the industry and for consumers as it clears the path for producers and meat packers in the United States to economically test all beef produced for consumption and to ensure that exported beef is free from the infectious agent that causes mad cow disease," Robert Petersen, chief executive officer of PDL, said in a statement.
"We believe this is a critically important development that can have substantial economic benefit to the $98 billion United States beef industry by enabling regimens to test every animal before the animal is processed and shipped to food stores or exported to foreign nations," Petersen added.
© Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved
http://www.upi.com/HealthBusiness/view.php?StoryID=20060131-101623-2850r
Prion Labs receives CWD approval from the USDA 3/1/04
Prion Developmental Labs, or PDL, is engaged in the development of diagnostics that detect prion diseases. Prion-related diseases have become a major international health concern after the discovery of a new variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans that may be transmitted by eating infected meat. Click here to more about Prion Labs
These maladies are caused by infectious prion proteins. The formation of infectious prions is the result of the alteration of the normal cellular prion protein found in all mammals. Prions present a diagnostic quandary. They are neither bacteria nor virus, and therefore; are not susceptible to standard detection methods. The problem is even more difficult because a workable test requires the discrimination of the pathogenic form from the normal prion protein. Learn more about Prion Diseases
Despite these hurdles, PDL was able to submit a patent application for its working prion test to the U.S. Patent Office in 2001. Several claims were submitted within the patent application, which included the use of the test on animals other than cows. Two human uses for the test were also included.
PDL currently offers a post-mortem rapid test for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in deer and is developing another for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE, or Mad Cow) in cattle. More on our products
http://www.prionlabs.com/
About Prion Labs
PDL is a late development stage company focused on rapid diagnostic tests for prion diseases using tissue, blood, serum, or other body fluids. Located in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, PDL manufactures its rapid tests according to the requirements of current Good Manufacturing Procedures (cGMP). PDL uses the technologies and facilities of Virotek LLC to produce high quality diagnostic products.
Robert B. Petersen, Ph.D., Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, has been in academic science for the past 18 years. Over the past ten years, he has studied human prion diseases at Case Western Reserve University as an Associate Professor. His work on the genetics of human prion disease has allowed him to develop an international reputation in the field and has facilitated the organization of the scientific team assembled by PDL.
From its inception, Drs. Pierluigi Gambetti and Man-Sun Sy headed one of PDL's test development groups at Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Gambetti is the Director of the National CJD Surveillance Unit for the United States Center for Disease Control (CDC). In addition, he has studied prion diseases since 1986 when he co-discovered the human prion disease Fatal Familial Insomnia. He was awarded the Potamkin prize in 1997. Dr. Sy came to Case Western Reserve as a full professor from Harvard University. He brings an accomplished background in immunology as well as in the development of more than forty monoclonal antibodies directed against the prion protein.
Drs. Richard Rubenstein and Richard Kascsak headed another prion development group at the New York State Institute for Basic Research. Drs. Kascsak and Rubenstein are co-inventors of the prion protein monoclonal antibody 3F4, the most widely used prion-specific antibody in diagnostic testing today. Currently, Dr. Rubenstein has taken over sole lead of this project and has generated an exciting panel of unique monoclonal antibodies.
http://www.prionlabs.com/about_us.asp
TSS
Date: January 31, 2006 at 1:04 pm PST
Genesis' mad-cow test awarded U.S. patent
NEW YORK, Jan. 31 (UPI) -- Genesis Bioventures said Tuesday its rapid test for mad cow disease has been awarded a U.S. patent.
The test, known as the Rapid Prion-Detection Assay, was developed by Genesis' portfolio company Prion Developmental Laboratories. The patent covers the use of this method of testing for all transmissible spongiform encephalopathies in animals and humans.
"This is a pivotal patent for the industry and for consumers as it clears the path for producers and meat packers in the United States to economically test all beef produced for consumption and to ensure that exported beef is free from the infectious agent that causes mad cow disease," Robert Petersen, chief executive officer of PDL, said in a statement.
"We believe this is a critically important development that can have substantial economic benefit to the $98 billion United States beef industry by enabling regimens to test every animal before the animal is processed and shipped to food stores or exported to foreign nations," Petersen added.
© Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved
http://www.upi.com/HealthBusiness/view.php?StoryID=20060131-101623-2850r
Prion Labs receives CWD approval from the USDA 3/1/04
Prion Developmental Labs, or PDL, is engaged in the development of diagnostics that detect prion diseases. Prion-related diseases have become a major international health concern after the discovery of a new variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) in humans that may be transmitted by eating infected meat. Click here to more about Prion Labs
These maladies are caused by infectious prion proteins. The formation of infectious prions is the result of the alteration of the normal cellular prion protein found in all mammals. Prions present a diagnostic quandary. They are neither bacteria nor virus, and therefore; are not susceptible to standard detection methods. The problem is even more difficult because a workable test requires the discrimination of the pathogenic form from the normal prion protein. Learn more about Prion Diseases
Despite these hurdles, PDL was able to submit a patent application for its working prion test to the U.S. Patent Office in 2001. Several claims were submitted within the patent application, which included the use of the test on animals other than cows. Two human uses for the test were also included.
PDL currently offers a post-mortem rapid test for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in deer and is developing another for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE, or Mad Cow) in cattle. More on our products
http://www.prionlabs.com/
About Prion Labs
PDL is a late development stage company focused on rapid diagnostic tests for prion diseases using tissue, blood, serum, or other body fluids. Located in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, PDL manufactures its rapid tests according to the requirements of current Good Manufacturing Procedures (cGMP). PDL uses the technologies and facilities of Virotek LLC to produce high quality diagnostic products.
Robert B. Petersen, Ph.D., Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer, has been in academic science for the past 18 years. Over the past ten years, he has studied human prion diseases at Case Western Reserve University as an Associate Professor. His work on the genetics of human prion disease has allowed him to develop an international reputation in the field and has facilitated the organization of the scientific team assembled by PDL.
From its inception, Drs. Pierluigi Gambetti and Man-Sun Sy headed one of PDL's test development groups at Case Western Reserve University. Dr. Gambetti is the Director of the National CJD Surveillance Unit for the United States Center for Disease Control (CDC). In addition, he has studied prion diseases since 1986 when he co-discovered the human prion disease Fatal Familial Insomnia. He was awarded the Potamkin prize in 1997. Dr. Sy came to Case Western Reserve as a full professor from Harvard University. He brings an accomplished background in immunology as well as in the development of more than forty monoclonal antibodies directed against the prion protein.
Drs. Richard Rubenstein and Richard Kascsak headed another prion development group at the New York State Institute for Basic Research. Drs. Kascsak and Rubenstein are co-inventors of the prion protein monoclonal antibody 3F4, the most widely used prion-specific antibody in diagnostic testing today. Currently, Dr. Rubenstein has taken over sole lead of this project and has generated an exciting panel of unique monoclonal antibodies.
http://www.prionlabs.com/about_us.asp
TSS
