The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a Notice of Allowance to Rock Creek Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Star Scientific, Inc., in Application No. 13,477,295, covering anatabine citrate, the active component in the company's Anatabloc products. A Notice of Allowance, issued by the US PTO, is a notification that an applicant is entitled to a patent.  The patent is expected to issue within approximately two months.

The allowed '295 application discloses an improved process for synthesizing anatabine that facilitates larger scale, commercial production, as well as novel salts of anatabine including anatabine citrate. An initial patent, US Patent No. 8,207,346, based on the same disclosure, was awarded on June 26, 2012 and covered claims for the improved process for synthesizing anatabine.  The claims allowed in the '295 application cover anatabine citrate per se as well as formulations containing anatabine citrate. The company, through Rock Creek, continues to pursue several additional patent applications covering dietary formulations containing anatabine, and methods of administering anatabine for the nutritional management of disorders associated with unhealthy levels of inflammation.

Star Scientific, Inc. is a technology-oriented company with a mission to promote maintenance of a healthy metabolism and lifestyle. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Rock Creek Pharmaceuticals, Star Scientific has been engaged in the manufacturing, sale, and marketing of two nutraceutical dietary supplements, a cosmetic facial cream and facial serum, as well as the development of other nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals.