Biodesix Receives New EU and US Patents for Blood-based Oncology Tests
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In addition, the European Patent Office granted to Biodesix a patent providing coverage for the Company's product VeriStrat(R), for the selection of patients for drug therapy. VeriStrat is a serum proteomic test currently available in the United States to help physicians guide therapy for patients with advanced lung cancer.
European patent number 2,247,954 is the counterpart to U.S. patent number 7,867,775 and covers the use of VeriStrat for selection of head and neck cancer patients for treatment with targeted drugs. U. S. patent number 8,024,282 ('282) provides additional intellectual property protection for the methods used with VeriStrat which are also related to Biodesix' underlying core ProTS(R) technology. Specifically, the '282 patent supports the Company's methods for the reliable and reproducible classification of samples in clinical diagnostics using computer systems configured as probabilistic classifiers. Related U.S. patent 7,906,342 covers Biodesix' methods for using mass spectrometry of patient samples to monitor cancer patients being treated with drugs targeting the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) pathway for response or non-responsiveness to the treatment. Biodesix also received notice from the PTO that two additional patent applications covering the use of VeriStrat for monitoring of head and neck, as well as colorectal cancer patients being treated with drugs targeting the EGFR pathway have been allowed; these patents are expected to issue early in the first quarter of 2012.
Drug therapies targeting the EGFR pathway and related molecular targets play an increasingly important role in cancer therapy. Identifying patients likely to benefit from this class of drugs is key to improving overall patient outcomes.
"The expansion of our patent estate is an integral part of our global strategy to protect VeriStrat and our technology platform," commented David Brunel, Biodesix CEO. "This protection strengthens our commercial position as a leading provider of diagnostics to personalize medicine for oncology patients."
