Zyomyx Inc announced that the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office has issued U.S. Patent No. 6,576,478 broadly covering the general architecture of bioanalytical devices that include micro-channel assays used in protein analysis for research, drug discovery and development purposes.

Entitled "Microdevices for High Throughput Screening of Biomolecules," the patent will serve to protect the development of next-generation protein biochips containing multiple micron-sized or miniature channels. The technology was developed at Zyomyx under the direction of Peter Wagner, Zyomyx' Senior Vice President and Chief Technology Officer.

"The strength of our Protein Profiling Biochip System and complementary biochips has its roots in the careful research and development of powerful, flexible and industry relevant technologies backed by a comprehensive intellectual property portfolio," said Robert Monaghan, Zyomyx' Chief Executive Officer. "The patent issued today, as well as the nine other U.S. patents that have been granted or allowed, ensure that Zyomyx can continue to pioneer important new tools and platforms that enable a variety of diverse protein measurements in anticipation of our customers' current and future research needs."

Until recently, the productivity of research was limited by tools that could examine a small fraction of the proteins present in a sample at one time. In February of this year, Zyomyx launched the Protein Profiling Biochip System and the first of several protein biochips, the Human Cytokine Biochip. Zyomyx' multiplexed, high-throughput system lifts the constraints on protein analysis, allowing scientists to engage in more productive and cost-effective protein research. The Protein Profiling Biochip System and Human Cytokine Biochips enable researchers to profile the expression of 30 cytokines in human serum samples simultaneously.

The applications for the technology extend throughout the drug discovery and development process, including validation of therapeutic targets and biomarkers, selection of drug candidates and evaluation of the effects of drugs in pre-clinical and clinical studies. The Zyomyx Protein Profiling System and the company's line of protein biochips are particularly well suited for therapeutic development and patient diagnosis applications. Customers already include Partners Healthcare Boston, GlaxoSmithKline and Aventis.