European patent grant

6 Nov 2006 07:00

Omega Diagnostics Group PLC06 November 2006 Omega Diagnostics Group PLC European patent grant Omega Diagnostics Group PLC is pleased to announce that a European Patent(0994121) has been granted in respect of its Branched Peptide technology whichhas been exclusively licensed from the Medical Research Council (MRC). ThePatent covers the enabling technology that allows assays to be developed withresulting superior sensitivity and specificity, which are key features of anynew diagnostic test. The technology is currently being applied to a new test forHerpes Simplex Virus 2 (HSV-2) and it has already shown to be effective inincreasing the efficacy of other tests such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus(HIV) In addition to the grant of the Branched Peptide Patent in Europe, a US Patent(5,965,357) has already been granted in respect of the specific peptide sequencefor HSV-2 which means that the intellectual property aspect of this developmentis well covered for the future. HSV is a chronic disease that infects over 1 billion people worldwide. It isalso estimated that there are over 60 million adults in the US infected withHSV-2 and because HSV-2 is difficult to diagnose, the need for more accuratediagnosis is acute. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange