USPTO grants patent to Rosetta's human hsa-miR-497 for use in diagnostic tests

Rosetta Genomics (NASDAQ: ROSG) today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued U.S. Patent No. 7,943,745, which is related to human hsa-miR-497 and its variants and covers the composition of matter.

Human hsa-miR-497 is an important component of the Company's miRview™ mets and mets2 diagnostic tests for the accurate identification of the tissue of origin in Cancers of Unknown Primary (CUP) and difficult to diagnose metastatic cancer cases. Rosetta Genomics recently announced the launch of an oncology sales team for these advanced microRNA-based diagnostic tests in the United States.

"We remain focused on building an exceptionally strong intellectual property portfolio that allows us to support and protect our products and processes. This is particularly important as we recently launched our first company-led commercialization efforts in the U.S., and this patent provides a further barrier to entry for would-be competitors," commented Kenneth A. Berlin, President and Chief Executive Officer. "As pioneers in the microRNA field, we believe that Rosetta has the broadest and deepest intellectual property portfolio for microRNA-based diagnostics."

Worldwide, Rosetta Genomics has been issued 21 patents and has filed more than 105 patent applications, 5 of which have been allowed, to protect its commercial diagnostic products. Many of these applications protect the specific microRNAs used in the company's products and cover composition of matter, diagnostic applications, therapeutic applications and discovery process applications for microRNAs in humans.