Pharmigene receives patent for methods to detect genetic alleles in SJS and TENS

Nov 17 2010

Pharmigene, a leader in advancing personalized medicine and reducing severe adverse reactions to drugs through genetic-based diagnostic solutions, announced it has been granted patents in the United States, Europe, Australia, Singapore and Taiwan. The patents cover methods to detect the presence of key genetic alleles in individual patients being considered for treatment with drugs that have been linked to the development of adverse drug reactions including Stevens-Johnson Syndrome and Toxic Epidermal Necrolysis.

“This discovery enables patients and their doctors to select the best treatment without exposing patients to increased risk of SJS and TENS”

SJS, and TENS, a more severe form of SJS, are potentially life-threatening and handicapping skin diseases which are triggered by cell death. Once diagnosed with the disease, patients are treated with supportive care treatment similar to patients with thermal burn injuries since there are currently no other accepted medical treatments. The supportive care treatments often include days to weeks of hospitalization with no guarantee of recovery.

A research team lead by Dr. YT Chen has discovered that patients who possess the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles, HLA-B*5801 or HLA-B*1502, have a hundred to a thousand fold higher risk of developing SJS or TENS when given certain drugs. These drugs are commonly used to treat diseases such as gout, cancer patients with hyperuricemia, as well as patients with epilepsy, trigeminal neuralgia, and bipolar disorder.

"This discovery enables patients and their doctors to select the best treatment without exposing patients to increased risk of SJS and TENS," commented Dr. Luke Chen, CEO of Pharmigene. "The award of these patents in key areas of the globe, and pending applications in other areas, including China, moves us one step closer to realizing Pharmigene's goals of bettering patient care and positively impacting the world's healthcare system," he added.

Source: http://www.pharmigene.com/