Caliper Life Sciences, Inc announced its receipt of the Notice of Allowance from the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for a patent covering key methods of in vivo, non-invasive (in living animals, through opaque tissue) imaging of light generated from within mammals.
Biophotonic imaging, one of the fastest growing technologies in the life sciences, is rapidly expanding beyond current methods based on light sources genetically encoded in mammals to also include methods based on light sources that are conjugated (or combined) with a biocompatible entity and administered to mammals. Caliper's newly allowed patent covers many of these important developments in biophotonic imaging science.
"In addition to providing researchers with the option to track disease states in an animal without requiring genetic modification of the animal to produce light, the methods covered by the new patent, which encompass a broad range of biophotonic imaging with conjugated probes, are particularly attractive for translation of pre-clinical applications and results into clinical settings," said Kevin Hrusovsky, chief executive officer of Caliper Life Sciences. Hrusovsky added, "This patent furthers Caliper's leadership position in the biophotonic imaging market. We intend to augment our considerable technology development efforts by also developing biomarkers and innovative conjugate imaging probes and applications for our customers using the technology covered by the patent."
Caliper's existing patent portfolio covers broad methods of in vivo imaging of genetically-produced light generation. The new patent covers the use of conjugates comprising any biocompatible entity and a light source, either fluorescent or bioluminescent. The biocompatible entity can be a cell, microorganism, particle or biological molecule, such as a protein, peptide, or antibody. The data produced from such non-invasive imaging provides researchers with unprecedented insight into events occurring at a molecular level and enables drug developers to gain specific knowledge about potential drug compounds earlier in the drug development process, thus potentially reducing the time to market.
"Caliper's ability to provide license rights to the imaging methods covered by this new patent should further motivate end-users to acquire not only licensing rights but also imaging systems from Caliper. In addition, we believe this new patent will enable us to expand our existing licensing program to a larger group of companies, some of which are already performing non-invasive in vivo imaging with other manufacturers' imaging equipment," said Mr. Hrusovsky, adding that, "We believe revenues from additional imaging products and licenses will begin to materialize in the back end of this year and we are reaffirming our full year revenue guidance of $137 - $143 million which reflects second half pro forma revenue growth of 14% - 23% and GAAP revenue growth of 24% - 34%."
Caliper's family of Xenogen IVIS imaging platforms provides scientists with innovative biophotonic imaging technologies. The IVIS systems deliver real-time in vivo imaging along with high sensitivity, ease of use and exceptional data quality. Caliper has placed over 400 units to date and has recently launched the new Xenogen IVIS Spectrum system to provide state-of-the-art bioluminescence and fluorescence capabilities in a single unit.
The Notice of Allowance corresponds to US patent application serial number 11/143,422 entitled "Non-invasive localization of a light-emitting conjugate in a mammal." A US patent corresponding to the Notice of Allowance will issue when the USPTO receives the requisite issuance fee.
Caliper Life Sciences is a leading provider of drug discovery and life sciences research solutions for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. With its acquisitions of NovaScreen Biosciences and Xenogen Corporation, Caliper has positioned itself to transform drug discovery and development through a keen focus on clinically relevant experimentation.