USPTO issues three patents to Rosetta Genomics

Rosetta Genomics (NASDAQ:ROSG) today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued three patents to the company covering the composition of matter of human microRNAs.

“With these three new patents, along with the two allowed patent applications we announced last week and further applications already filed, we are assembling an intellectual property estate that we believe keeps us at the forefront of microRNA research while providing protection for a growing portfolio of diagnostic tests”

The first (U.S. Patent No. 7,655,785) relates to human miR-527; the second (U.S. Patent No. 7,642,348) relates to human miR-491 and the third (U.S. Patent No. 7,618,814) relates to human miR-135b.

Human miR-527, has recently been shown to be a predictor of progesterone receptor status in breast cancer. Human miR-491 has been shown to be involved in colorectal cancer and liver necrosis. Human miR-135b is highly expressed in colon cancer specimens relative to normal colon tissues.

Rosetta now has six issued patents and 11 allowed patent applications covering composition of matter of microRNAs in humans.

“With these three new patents, along with the two allowed patent applications we announced last week and further applications already filed, we are assembling an intellectual property estate that we believe keeps us at the forefront of microRNA research while providing protection for a growing portfolio of diagnostic tests,” said Kenneth A. Berlin, president and chief executive officer.

Rosetta Genomics has filed more than 35 patent applications in the U.S. and more than 36 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.