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CytoGenix Announces Notice of Allowance in the U.S. for Herpes Patent
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Houston, TX -- CytoGenix, Inc. (OTCBB: CYGX) announced today it has received a Notice of Allowance for a patent on its Herpes composition from the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The allowed patent entitled, "Treatment of HSV-Related Pathologies Using ssDNA," claims both the composition of matter utilizing the Company’s single stranded DNA (ssDNA) expression vector technology and methods of treatment utilizing the therapeutic compound.
While most pharmacological agents are employed to chemically signal cells to interrupt, reduce production or bind and regulate specific disease-causing proteins, this application of Cytogenix’s novel ssDNA technology directs infected cell(s) to make a short nucleic acid sequence that specifically targets and impedes the activity of a Herpes virus protein needed for viral reproduction. The specificity of this application reduces the possibility of side effects and/or long-term effects and is a more direct approach to targeting the origin of disease rather than merely treating symptoms.
"Allowance of this patent is an important element in our efforts to commercialize our Herpes therapeutic product. With this milestone accomplished, the Company is concentrating its efforts to complete required testing necessary to meet FDA regulations for an Investigational New Drug ("IND") application leading to clinical trials of its anti-Herpes Simplivir™ product candidate. The Company’s decision to change its process from one using bacteria-based DNA production to its cell-free synDNA™ manufacturing technology has necessitated the process of resubmitting an IND for its Herpes therapeutic product. With necessary funding, the Company will move as quickly as possible towards the completion of this process", stated Malcolm Skolnick, CytoGenix President and Chief Executive Officer. "We remain confident that our Simplivir product will receive an IND that will allow us to proceed with clinical trials and ultimately to commercialization of this therapeutic."
Dr. Cindee Ewell, CytoGenix patent counsel, indicated, "Grant of this patent in the United States provides a major step forward in validating the use of our ssDNA expression technology in DNA-based therapeutics and should provide support for allowance of other Company patent applications utilizing similar technology."
CytoGenix, Inc. is a Houston-based biopharmaceutical company pioneering the new field of gene based medicine and is focused on developing innovative vaccines and therapeutic products using its three proprietary technology platforms: synDNA non-bacterial production methodology, single stranded DNA (ssDNA) expression, and oligonucleotide based anti-bacterial technologies. CytoGenix currently holds 13 granted patents and 57 international or US pending patent applications claiming methods and materials in connection with these platform technologies.
Safe Harbor Statement
Except for statements of historical fact, the statements in this press release are forward-looking. Such statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the statements made. These factors include, but are not limited to, general economic conditions, risks associated with the acceptance of new products, competition, and other factors more fully detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Additional information about CytoGenix and its technology can be found on the website at www.cytogenix.com.
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