Rosetta Genomics has received a Notice of Allowance from the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a patent covering the method of use of a core element of company's microRNA technology in the identification of the tumor of origin in cancer of unknown or uncertain primary and metastatic cancer.
The issued claims for US Patent Application No. 13/167,489 is entitled "Gene Expression Signature for Classification of Tissue of Origin of Tumor Samples."
The invention covered by this patent relates to the methods for determining an expression profile with a primer sequence and the comparison of the expression profile that quantitates 48 microRNAs and assigns one of 25 tumor diagnoses using a biologically motivated binary decision tree and a K-Nearest Neighbors classifier to identify the tumor of origin.
This patent protects the intellectual property of the company’s first generation Cancer Origin Test, which utilizes a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technology for sequencing.
Rosetta Genomics president and CEO Kenneth Berlin said the company is pleased to expand its intellectual property portfolio with this new US patent.
"While this patent covers our first generation assay, it is still critical to our patent strategy as it creates a barrier to entry for would-be competitors and solidifies our position as the leader in microRNA biomarker technology and microRNA-based diagnostics," Berlin added.
"This patent is important as it protects key elements of our microRNA technology and could be indicative of the future receipt of patent protection for our other existing and future assays. We continue to build a strong intellectual property position to protect our expanding portfolio of microRNA-based diagnostics and therapeutics."