Lexicon broadens patent portfolio
Lexicon Genetics, from the Woodlands, TX, US has been issued with a US Patent1 that broadly covers the most widely-practiced methods of producing genetically-engineered knockout mice by gene targeting.
Lexicon Genetics, from the Woodlands, TX, US has been issued with a US Patent1 that broadly covers the most widely-practiced methods of producing genetically-engineered knockout mice by gene targeting.
The issuance of this patent fortifies Lexicon's intellectual property position in the fields of gene targeting by homologous recombination and gene knockout technology.
The '113 patent' covers the use in gene targeting of vectors possessing specified degrees of DNA sequence identity with the vector's intended target in the chromosome of a mouse embryonic stem cell. The use of vectors with this degree of DNA sequence identity enables scientists to generate mice in which the targeted gene's function has been eliminated, or 'knocked out.' The technology also enables scientists to generate mice in which the targeted gene's function can be conditionally regulated or otherwise altered.
Lexicon scientists use gene knockout technology, including the technology covered by the '113 patent', to systematically discover the physiological functions of genes in mice and to identify which corresponding genes encode potential targets for therapeutic intervention.
As a result of the patent, Lexicon has broad exclusive rights in certain fields under seven issued US patents covering aspects of gene targeting. The technologies covered by these patents are widely used in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries for drug discovery. Lexicon has granted non-exclusive, internal research-use sublicenses under its gene targeting patents to a number of leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, including Pfizer, GSK, Amgen and Genentech