Boston Biomedica Inc has been issued a patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office covering the devices used in its proprietary Pressure Cycling Technology (PCT) for determination of nucleic acid (DNA, RNA) and protein sequences. The "Integrated Sequencing Device" patent (No. 6,448,065) is based on the discovery that pressure can be used to control the activity of enzymes that break down DNA and proteins into their component "building blocks" of nucleotides and amino acids, respectively. This patent describes a self-contained high-pressure reaction and detection apparatus with an integrated pressure cycling device optimised for sequencing operations, and extends the coverage of an earlier patent with the same title (No. 6,245,506) that described the sequencing methodology.

The PCT methods and devices covered by these two patents may provide a more cost- effective and general method for determining the sequences of biomolecules than those currently used for sequencing nucleic acids or proteins.

The Company also announced the grant of its first two European patents. The first of these patents, titled "Pressure Cycling Reactor" extends the coverage of a previously issued U.S. patent of the same name (U.S. Patent No. 6,036,923) to Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland. The other patent, titled "Pressure Mediated Binding of Biomolecular Complexes," is the counterpart of a pending U.S. patent application, and extends protection to all the major countries of the European Union.

"Sequence information for nucleic acids and proteins is fundamental to progress in genomics and proteomics, whether these studies are applied to agriculture, medicine, or any of the other life sciences," said Dr. Nathan Lawrence, Director of Product Development for BBI Biotech and Project Leader for PCT. "The new "Integrated Sequencing Device" patent expands BBI's intellectual property portfolio in the areas of genomics and proteomics, and enhances the potential for development of a simple, rapid approach for nucleic acid and protein sequence determinations."

Previously issued U.S. PCT patents include the instrumentation designed to carry out the PCT process, technology for breaking open cells and viruses by exposure to alternating pressure pulses, modular devices for the separation and purification of nucleic acids, methods for sterilizing materials such as vaccines, therapeutics, or blood plasma preparations without destroying the desired protein activities, and methods for purifying biological compounds based upon their differential binding to an immobile support at specified pressures.

"This new U.S. patent, the ninth issued to BBI for PCT, extends our coverage of the biomolecular sequencing application for PCT, and the grant of our first two European PCT patents represents another milestone reached in our R&D program for this innovative and versatile technology platform," said Richard T. Schumacher, Founder, CEO, and Chairman of Boston Biomedica. "These patents, together with the recent release of our first PCT product, the PCT Sample Preparation System, give us added confidence that our PCT program is on target, and has the potential to play an important role in our overall goal to return BBI to profitability."