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This is the first time I have heard of this. Guess the doc's will appreciate it as much as the patients. I suppose it could be abused too but it could eliminate months of medication titration and switching until the right combinations are found. CAMBRIDGE, Mass., July 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Variagenics, Inc. (Nasdaq: VGNX), a leader in pharmacogenomics, the science that correlates individual genetic variation with drug response, today announced that the United States Patent and Trademark Office has issued U.S. Patent No. 6,251,587 entitled "Methods for determining the prognosis of a patient with a neurological disease." This is the third ApoE patent issued to Variagenics, which acquired the patent portfolio of Nova Molecular, Inc. "This ApoE patent underscores Variagenics' leadership in the field of pharmacogenomics and reinforces our approach to drug and diagnostic development based on correlating genetic variation with drug response," said Taylor J. Crouch, Variagenics' President and CEO. "Presently we offer ApoE genotyping assays to the pharmaceutical industry through our clinical laboratory partnership with Covance, Inc." This ApoE patent describes a method for determining the prognosis of a patient diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, stroke and other brain diseases. The method entails determining which variant of the ApoE gene is present and using that information to predict drug efficacy, patient outcome or patient disease risk. The patent also describes how determination of ApoE genotype can be used to select patients for inclusion in a clinical trial of a drug candidate for the treatment of certain neurological diseases. In addition, the claims cover the determination of butyrylcholinesterase genotype and/or a combination of ApoE genotype and butyrylcholinesterase genotype in patients with neurological diseases. Vincent P. Stanton, Jr., M.D., Vice President and Principal Scientist of Variagenics, said, "This patent enhances Variagenics' intellectual property portfolio in pharmacogenomics because it broadens the range of medical conditions for which ApoE genotyping is covered. Specifically, the claims in this patent extend our rights to nervous system disorders beyond dementia and cognitive impairment, and articulate the clinical spectrum of pharmacogenomic utility from clinical trials to diagnostic tests." Apolipoprotein E is expressed on the surface of lipoproteins, the major vehicle for transporting cholesterol in the body. Apolipoprotein E is a ligand that participates in receptor-mediated internalization of lipid-rich lipoproteins. In the central nervous system, ApoE plays a key role in the mobilization and redistribution of cholesterol and phospholipids during membrane remodeling associated with synaptic plasticity. Neurological diseases constitute a major burden to patients, caregivers and to the healthcare system. In the United States, there are approximately 500,000 individuals with Parkinson's Disease, 300,000 with multiple sclerosis and three million with stroke. The aggregate cost of caring for these patients has been estimated at $36 billion per year. A method which would allow physicians to predict which patients will respond to specific therapeutics and dosages would provide physical and psychological benefits to patients, and pharmacoeconomic benefits to society. Background on patent This latest ApoE patent contributes to Variagenics' strategic plan to secure intellectual property rights to DNA polymorphic genes and genetic pathways that affect disease risk and therapeutic response. The other ApoE patents owned by Variagenics cover methods for determining the ApoE status in patients with cognitive impairments, and are useful for predicting response to cholinomimetic therapy in patients with non-Alzheimer's neurological diseases (including pathology of the developing and aging nervous system, neural infection and dietary deficiency). The claims also describe the utility of determining ApoE genotype for making a prognosis about recovery and responsiveness to therapy. Variagenics is working to develop specific genetic diagnostic tests that can be used to predict the therapeutic benefit of alternative treatment regimens for patients with neurological disorders. Variagenics, inc. applies its pharmacogenomic technologies to the discovery, development and commercialization of individualized drugs and companion molecular diagnostic products. The Company identifies clinically important genetic variations, including single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), the most common form of genetic variability, and haplotypes (groups of SNPs), and uses this information to improve and enhance drugs in development and to identify and validate new drug targets. Variagenics is leveraging its expertise and technologies, including its new NuCleave(TM) genotyping and haplotyping analysis platform, into solutions for pharmaceutical companies seeking to optimize therapeutic outcomes for patients. Bob Martone [log in to unmask] http://www.samlink.com/~bmartone ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn