Serologicals reports that the United States Patent and Trademark Office awarded, on 15 November 2005, patent no 6,964,951 with respect to its ubiquitous chromatin opening element (UCOE) technology
Serologicals acquired the UCOE gene expression technology, which includes 55 issued and pending patents, on 30 September 2005.
UCOEs improve the yield, consistency and stability of protein production in mammalian cells.
This particular patent covers the use of UCOE elements to ensure reproducible expression levels of a gene in cells that are then used to treat patients.
Examples of such cellular therapy could include ex vivo gene therapy and stem cell therapy.
David Dodd, president and chief executive officer of Serologicals, commented on the receipt of the patent, stating, "This new UCOE patent is part of the family of patents we recently acquired as part of a strategic move that continues our ongoing focus on developing and acquiring innovative technologies that ensure we remain the leader in bioprocessing and cell engineering technologies.
"Commercialising this patent family by our Celliance subsidiary in the development of protein-based drugs, as well as the development of this particular application by our research segment of Chemicon/Upstate in developing engineered cell lines are just two examples of how Serologicals continues to support our customer's efforts to produce more consistent products more efficiently".
Dennis Harris, vice president, research and development, business development and chief scientific officer for Serologicals, will be in charge of inquiries about possible out-licensing opportunities using this patented technology.
