This is the third patent issued to Rosetta Genomics covering microRNAs The company has received notices of allowance for an additional eightpatent applications related to human microRNAs
Nov. 5, 2009 (Business Wire) -- Rosetta Genomics, Ltd. (NASDAQ: ROSG), a leading developer of microRNA-based molecular diagnostics, announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued U.S. Patent No. 7,592,441 to Rosetta Genomics. The patent relates to human microRNA miR-193b, as well as to complementary probes and vectors. This is the third patent issued to Rosetta Genomics by the USPTO. Recently it was shown that downregulation of miR-193b is associated with progression and invasion of human breast cancer (Li et al., Oncogene 2009).
“We are very pleased to add this patent to our growing intellectual property portfolio,” said Ken Berlin, President and CEO. “This recent patent issuance strengthens and validates our strategy of establishing a broad and integrated IP portfolio upon which the company is building its microRNA-based diagnostic and therapeutic discovery engines.”
In addition to the three issued patents, Rosetta Genomics has received eight Notices of Allowance from the USPTO for patent applications related to human Sanger microRNAs 18b, 20b, 92b, 494, 135b, 527, 196b and 491.
Rosetta Genomics has filed more than 20 patent applications worldwide to protect each aspect of its commercial diagnostic products. Many of these applications protect the specific microRNAs used in the company’s products. In addition, the company is pursuing more than 50 patent applications to protect methods of detecting microRNAs and methods of diagnosing and treating diseases with microRNAs.
About microRNAs
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are recently discovered, small RNAs that act as master regulators of protein synthesis, and have been shown to be highly effective biomarkers. MicroRNAs’ unique advantage as biomarkers lies in their high tissue specificity, and their exceptional stability in the most routine preservation methods for biopsies, including Formalin Fixed Paraffin Embedded (FFPE) block. It has been suggested that their small size (19-21 nucleotides) enables them to remain intact in FFPE blocks, as opposed to messenger RNA (mRNA), which tends to rapidly degrade in samples preserved by this method. In addition, early preclinical data has shown that by controlling the levels of specific microRNAs, cancer cell growth may be reduced. To learn more about microRNAs, please visit www.rosettagenomics.com.
About miRview™ Products
miRview™ are a series of microRNA-based diagnostic products offered by Rosetta Genomics. miRview™ mets accurately identifies the primary tumor site in metastatic cancer and Cancer of Unknown Primary (CUP).
