IBI receives U.S. patent for novel blood protein biomarkers

Intrinsic Bioprobes today announced that the United States Patents and Trademark Office has issued US Patent 7,816,095 covering novel blood protein biomarkers related to cardiovascular disease. This patent is first of a series of patent applications that cover specific human protein variants as biomarkers with clinical utility.

"The biomarkers were discovered using Intrinsic Bioprobes' unique Mass Spectrometric Immunoassay technologies," says Urban Kiernan, Ph.D., the Director of Biomarker Discovery at Intrinsic Bioprobes. These newly identified biomarkers are modified forms of specific circulating blood proteins that, when used in combination, yield exceptional clinical sensitivity and specificity in the determination of myocardial infarction. "We are very excited about these biomarkers because they clearly demonstrate the significance of protein microheterogeneity in human disease, which has been largely unexplored niche in human molecular biology," adds Kiernan.

Intrinsic Bioprobes Inc. (IBI), located in Tempe, AZ, performs unbiased discovery, verification and population studies on full-length proteins, and discovers and defines microheterogeneity in disease-associated biomarker proteins within healthy and disease populations. IBI's principal focus is the development and application of clinical and diagnostic assays and platforms for rapid and sensitive protein biomarker analysis for early detection and efficient treatment of critical human diseases. IBI's advanced technologies are patented and proprietary process platforms and approaches for proteomic and other research and clinical applications that generally leverage advanced mass spectrometry technology. These approaches include IBI's MASSAY(R) technology system, its Mass Spectrometric Immunoassay (MSIA(TM)) technology and its Bioreactive Probes (BRP(TM)). The Company has developed a deep and growing base of intellectual property in its field, consisting of 19 issued patents and numerous pending patent applications.