NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Enzo Biochem Inc. (NYSE:ENZ), together with its collaborator, the National Eye Institute (NEI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), filed a patent application in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on April 26, 2013, directed to immune modulation for the management of autoimmune diseases that may include age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which is a leading cause of blindness in the United States. The product platform is broadly applicable to the management of autoimmune disorders and includes therapeutic compositions and methods of treatment, as well as compositions and methods for diagnostic and prognostic applications.
Recent evidence indicates that AMD may be an autoimmune disease. According to the NEI, advanced AMD affects more than 2 million people in the United States, and it is estimated that almost 3.6 million will be affected by the year 2030 due to the aging population. Researchers have identified 80-100 different autoimmune diseases and suspect at least 40 additional diseases of having an autoimmune basis. The NIH estimates up to 23.5 million Americans suffer from these chronic and life-threatening diseases and that the prevalence is rising. The product platform of the patent application not only permits more accurate identification of epitopes to which a patient exhibits autoimmunity, but also allows identification of compounds that can more effectively modulate immune responses and provides therapy that is best tailored for management of the disease. Beyond that, the platform provides for cell therapy for the management of autoimmune disease.
The invention is a result of a scientific collaboration between Enzo and the NIH. Robert Nussenblatt, M.D., Chief of NEI’s Laboratory of Immunology, and two other NEI researchers are co-inventors of the application. Dr. Nussenblatt, a world-renowned ocular immunologist and expert in clinical research design and conduct, has authored or co-authored more than 400 publications and a number of books. Dr. Elazar Rabbani, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of Enzo, and Dr. James Donegan, Enzo senior scientist, are also inventors.
About NEI and NIH
About the National Eye Institute: The National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health, leads the federal government's research on the visual system and eye diseases. NEI supports basic and clinical science programs that result in the development of sight-saving treatments. For more information, visit http://www.nei.nih.gov.
About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
About Enzo Biochem
Enzo Biochem is a pioneer in molecular diagnostics, leading the convergence of clinical laboratories, life sciences and therapeutics through the development of unique diagnostic platform technologies that provide numerous advantages over previous standards. A global company, Enzo Biochem utilizes cross-functional teams to develop and rapidly deploy products systems and services that meet the ever-changing and rapidly growing needs of health care both today and into the future. Underpinning Enzo Biochem’s products and technologies is a broad and deep intellectual property portfolio, with patent coverage across a number of key enabling technologies.
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