Isis Pharmaceuticals was issued U.S. Patent 7,108,974, covering the identification of bacterial organisms obtained by analyzing molecular signatures derived from the organism’s DNA used in the Ibis T5000™ biosensor system.
Using the Ibis T5000 biosensor system, developed and being commercialized by the company’s Ibis division, investigators can identify virtually any organism without spending too much time on culturing, sequencing, or hybridization steps, without even knowing which organisms might be present in the sample, according to Isis. It can be used to detect biowarfare threats, to identify sources of hospital-associated infections, to monitor emerging and pandemic diseases, and to characterize human samples for forensic applications, the company adds.
Currently, three systems have been installed with government agencies. Ibis expects its first commercial system sale in 2006.
“The new patent is the first of what we expect to be a growing portfolio of patents covering all of the key components of the Ibis T5000 system, including assay kits, hardware components, and data analysis software,” predicts Michael Treble, president of Ibis biosciences division.
