Three New U.S. Patents Granted as Result of Siemens Endometriosis Study

Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics has announced that it has been granted three new U.S. patents for methods of diagnosing endometriosis. The patents are the result of a programme undertaken by the company to identify immunological markers that may be useful in the development of immunodiagnostic tests to help those afflicted by this disease.

Endometriosis is characterized by the presence of endometrial tissue in abdominal locations outside of the uterus. The condition affects approximately 10% of women of childbearing age and can be difficult to diagnose without invasive and surgical methods of confirmation.

Siemens has undertaken a multi-year study to help address the issue of endometriosis. Over the course of the study they screened recombinant endometriosis proteins for reactivity with antibodies present in the serum of women suffering from the disease. Thousands of candidate markers were screened during the duration of the project, and a few were selected that reacted with antibodies present in the serum of affected women. Siemens filed U.S. patent documents for some of these candidates, and was recently granted three patents by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

“While sometimes necessary, diagnosing disease through invasive methods is often accompanied by long and painful recovery periods, not to mention, traditionally higher healthcare costs,” said Dave Hickey, CEO, Chemistry, Immunoassay, Automation and Diagnostics IT Business Unit, Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics. “For those suffering from endometriosis, Siemens recognized an opportunity to find an innovative solution that may deliver a rapid, immunodiagnostic test as a much less invasive option to help this patient population.”