Nymox issued patent for saliva cholesterol test
Nymox Pharmaceutical, from Maywood, NJ, has been issued a US patent for a unique method and device for using saliva to determine cholesterol levels.
Nymox Pharmaceutical, from Maywood, NJ, has been issued a US patent for a unique method and device for using saliva to determine cholesterol levels.
Elevated cholesterol is a well-known major risk factor for heart disease and has been implicated as a risk factor for such other diseases as stroke, diabetes, and Alzheimer's disease. The National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the NIH recommends routine screening for elevated cholesterol levels. The cholesterol testing market in the US is estimated to be at over 200m tests a year and is projected to rise as the baby boom generation ages.
'This patent complements our existing patent for the use of statins for the prevention or treatment of Alzheimer's disease and further establishes our pro-prietary position in a very large and medically impor-tant market,' said Dr Paul Averback, ceo of Nymox.
'It also augments our existing diagnostic platform technology pipeline.'
Using its proprietary test technology, Nymox has developed two products for determining tobacco ex-posure or use, NicAlert and TobacAlert.
The company also offers AlzheimAlert, a proprie-tary urine test designed to aid physicians in the diag-nosis of Alzheimer's disease, to physicians in the United States through its Clinical Reference Labora-tory in Maywood, N.J., at a cost of $295.