Meningitis Diagnostic Patent Granted in USA

 Posted by  General news
Nov 082013
 
Caution: This post is more than a year old. Be sure to check for more up to date information.

The patent application filed by Belfast Health and Social Care Trust to protect its rapid meningitis diagnostic has been granted in the USA. Granted patent US8465927 – Detection of Neisseria meningitidis by loop mediated isothermal amplification – is licensed exclusively to HiberGene Diagnostics Ltd, a rapid molecular diagnostics company, for its meningococcal diagnostic. The patent expires in 2031.

Tony Hill, CEO of HiberGene said: “This patent is very good news for the company and proves that we have a robust intellectual property position. With funding for the company expected to be secured soon, manufacturing underway, this patent will ensure that we can fully exploit all of the commercial opportunities offered by the Meningitis test.”

The test was developed at Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, by James McKenna, Derek Fairley and Peter Coyle. The original research project was supported by grants from the Meningitis Research Foundation and the HSC R&D Division, Public Health Agency.

Using a novel rapid amplification platform, HiberGene have produced a rapid and highly sensitive diagnostic test which can be used in almost any clinical or laboratory setting. The company is currently fundraising to progress the tests for meningitis through to commercialisation and to fund further ongoing  development of a complementary range tests for  Human Infectious Diseases. (www.hibergene.com)