Nanogen, Inc., developer of advanced diagnostic products, announced today that it has been granted U.S. Patent No. RE39,816, which is a reissue of United States Patent No. 6,461,828, titled, “Conjunctive Analysis of Biological Marker Expression For Predicting Cardiac Mortality”. This patent relates to the combined use of a cardiac marker of cell injury, such as Troponin I, with a marker of organ adaptation, such as brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), for prognosis of chronic congestive heart failure (CHF) patients. The new claims strengthen the Company’s intellectual property rights around the combined use of these two types of important biomarkers.
“The combined use of Troponin I and BNP to evaluate the progress of congestive heart failure is just one example of how physicians currently combine biomarkers in cardiac care,” said Howard Birndorf, CEO of Nanogen. “Reaffirmation of our IP position strengthens our cardiac related patent portfolio and positions us to market leadership point of care products that meet current clinical needs.”
The Company currently has rapid diagnostic testing products in the market that test for cardiac markers separately. The company offers the Cardiac STATus® Troponin I rapid test product line acquired in 2006 and earlier this year announced the commercial release of its StatusFirst® CHF rapid test which uses the NT-proBNP marker. In addition, Nanogen holds key intellectual property rights around the use of multiple markers in a combined diagnostic test device with its 3-in-1 patent.