AtheroNova receives U.S. patent allowance for 'Dissolution of Arterial Plaque'

AtheroNova Inc. (OTCBB: AHRO), a biotech company focused on the research and development of compounds to regress atherosclerotic plaque, announced that it has received a Notice of Allowance for its patent application for Dissolution of Arterial Plaque.  The patent will issue within the next few months when the US Patent Office completes its registration process. This announcement culminates over five years of effort in pursuit of a patent covering the use of hyodeoxycholic acid for atherosclerotic plaque lesions. 

"We have worked diligently with our patent counsel, McDermott Will & Emery LLP, to achieve this major milestone and we want to thank them for their efforts," said AtheroNova CEO Thomas W. Gardner. "We are very confident that this patent will support our development project for AHRO-001 and will enhance our ability to fully capitalize on the intellectual property potential that this patent represents. We can now move forward with several additional compounds in the AHRO family described in our patent applications. AtheroNova is continuing to build significant momentum as we prepare for initiation of our Phase I clinical trials later this year."

"We are pleased that the U.S. Patent Office has found AtheroNova's claims for treating atherosclerosis using a bile acid to be patentable," stated James W. Hill, MD, AtheroNova's patent counsel with McDermott Will & Emery.  "The method involves administering the naturally occurring bile acid hyodeoxycholic acid, or HDCA, to a patient such that its concentration in the patient's blood is maintained above a certain level for a period of time.  In mice studies at UCLA, HDCA was effective in inhibiting progression of arterial plaque in a way that may bode well for treatment of human atherosclerosis."