Benzinga | Jun 11, 2021 05:20AM EDT

Genetic Technologies Announced US Patent Office Grants Foundational Pharmacogenomic Patent

Genetic Technologies Limited (NASDAQ:GENE) advises that has been granted the US Patent No. 11,031,098 Computer Systems and Methods for Genomic Analysis'.

The patent application was submitted in 2016, building on a patent family dating back to 2001 and was recently granted to Genetic Technologies and demonstrates an important addition to Genetic Technologies portfolio of intellectual property. The length of time for the patent grant highlights the challenging climatein the United States for the granting of genetic and biotech patents in recent years and is therefore a significant milestone for the Company.

This builds on the latest patent granted in June 2020 for Methods for assessing risk of developing breast cancer' - No: US 10,683,549. (ref: ASX: release 18 June, 2020) and extends the protection of our portfolio beyond breast cancer and future products.

The patent describes efficient methods for identifying variations that occur in the human genome and relating those variations to the genetic basis of disease and drug response. The methods form the basis of Genome-Wide Association Studies (GWAS), particularly those focused on identifying single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with drug response ie. pharmacogenomic or pharmacogenetic markers.

Genetic Technologies CEO, Simon Morriss says: "This is another great achievement for the team, in this case, it's a testament to the underlying expertise of our in-house scientists in navigating a particularly challenging patent pathway through the United States Patent and Trademarks Office (USPTO).

The application and utilization of this patent forms the foundation of a single test covering multiple serious diseases known as the multitest that will cover more than 70% of current known mortality and morbidities.

This is in the final stages of development currently scheduled for release in Q4 CY21.