Hythiam Inc., a healthcare services management company that licenses the Prometa treatment protocols designed to treat alcohol, methamphetamine and cocaine dependence, has announced that the European Patent Office has notified that it intends to grant a patent under Rule 51(4) EPC for Hythiam's.

European Patent Application No. 02 711 879 3, which contains claims for the use of a composition of matter for the treatment of cocaine dependence.

Hythiam previously received a notice of allowance for its treatment of cocaine dependence patent application in the US, issuance of patents for treatment of alcoholism and cocaine dependence in Singapore and New Zealand, and issuance of its cocaine dependence treatment patent application in Australia.

"The continued issuance of patents underlying the Prometa Protocols speaks to the innovative nature of our treatment platform," said Terren Peizer, Hythiam's chairman and CEO. "We have continued to build on the initial discoveries that were contained in our early filings, and it is our belief that our intellectual property portfolio will provide us with an invaluable strategic advantage as we continue to expand adoption of Prometa in the behavioural healthcare space."

Hythiam's Prometa treatment protocols are designed for use by healthcare providers seeking to treat individuals diagnosed with dependencies to alcohol, cocaine or methamphetamine, as well as combinations of these drugs.