Knobbe Martens Olson & Bear client Novocell, Inc., a stem cell engineering company, recently announced that it has received U.S. Patent 7,510,876 with claims covering human definitive endoderm cells. Definitive endoderm cells are essential for not only generating pancreatic type cells, which Novocell is using to develop cell therapy for diabetes, but also other tissues and organs such as lungs, intestines, liver and thyroid.
The patent was written and prosecuted by Dr. Jerry Hefner, partner of Knobbe Martens. Dr. Hefner filed a provisional patent application covering definitive endoderm in December of 2003. Subsequently, in December 2004, Dr. Hefner filed the U.S. utility that matured into the issued patent.
“This patent represents an important technological advancement in various fields relating to embryonic stem cell research and cell replacement therapies,” said Dr. Hefner.”This patent provides a means by which to produce high quality definitive endoderm cells that are competent to form cells of many organs, including the pancreas, lungs, liver, stomach, thymus and intestines.”
“This composition patent is a milestone achievement for Novocell and is the culmination of extensive research that opened the door to the endoderm lineage,” said Fred Middleton, Chairman & Acting CEO of Novocell. “We thank Knobbe Martens, particularly Jerry Hefner, for providing counsel in the development of this patent.”
Knobbe Martens represents clients in all areas of intellectual property law. Clients include public and private companies at various stages of growth, from start-up to the Fortune 500 worldwide. The firm has been recognized in international surveys for excellence in all aspects of intellectual property law. More information about the firm can be found at knobbe.com. Novocell, Inc. is a stem cell engineering company with research operations in San Diego, California and Athens, Georgia, dedicated to creating, delivering and commercializing cell and drug therapies for diabetes and other chronic diseases.
Novocell has three primary technologies: stem cell engineering, cell encapsulation and drug discovery. The Company was founded in 1999 and merged with CyThera, Inc. and BresaGen, Inc. in 2004. For more information, please visit www.novocell.com