Novogen Limited has been issued the patent in the U.S. for human dietary supplements comprising soy material made from ground soy hypocotyl containing at least one isoflavone.
Novogen is a world leader in isoflavone technology and isoflavone products.Isoflavones can be extracted from a number of sources.Novogen uses the richest source, red clover, as the basis for its dietary supplement products Promensil, Rimostil and Trinovin.
Novogen's intellectual property also extends to certain dietary supplements with isoflavones extracted from soy.
This new patent grant extends the cover for soy to include soy hypocotyls, which are an approved food and do not need to have the isoflavones chemically extracted.Soy hypocotyls thus are a source of isoflavones for food products that might have health claims attached.The use of these alternative isoflavone sources derived from soy has been licensed from Novogen to DuPont Protein Technologies.
DuPont Protein Technologies launched a 70 per cent joint venture with Bunge Limited, to be called Solae LLC, with an expected initial annual revenue of $800 million and which will include the further development of soybeans with improved quality traits.It is within this joint venture that the Novogen U.S. patent license for soy will operate.
Novogen receives milestone and royalty payments under this license agreement.A milestone royalty payment to Novogen of $1.3 million was received on January 6, 2003.
According to Novogen's research director, Professor Alan Husband, the U.S. grant of this soy hypocotyl patent further demonstrated Novogen's growing intellectual property portfolio and ensured Novogen's position as a leader in the world market for isoflavone products.
Novogen markets the menopause health supplement Promensil, the post- menopausal supplement Rimostil, and the prostate health supplement Trinovin. Phenoxodiol, the Company's lead anti-cancer compound, is in human Phase II clinical trials undertaken by subsidiary Marshall Edwards Inc. in the U.S. and Australia, including a trial currently underway at the Yale University School of Medicine.