CDEX's Medical Patent Offers Industry Increased Security

Posted on December 19, 2007 by John Rizvi

       CDEX, Inc. demonstrated two chemical detection innovations in their medical patent portfolio at a recent trade show in Las Vegas, NV (CNNMoney, December 18, 2007). The two patent pending devices are ValiMed (TM) Medical Validation System and Meth Scanner (TM), both of which were duly received for their advanced ability to determine the chemical composition of medication (ValiMed) or the presence of narcotics (Meth Scanner).

       ValiMed, which is credited with "saving lives in hospitals across the nation," determines whether the medication inside the package--and not just the label--contains the medication to which it claims. Furthermore, it is easy to use with a simple declaration of "validated" or "not validated." I can picture the trade show audience of national and international hospital executives, pharmacists, and other industry representatives nodding their heads in approval at as this adds a considerable safety measure, which has broad implications for patients as well as financial bottom lines.

    Meth Scanner is a patent pending medical device that is a useful narcotics detector inside and outside of hospitals. As a complement to this scanner, CDEX also unveiled their new Fentanyl Validation System, which strengthens the procedures for preventing "narcotic diversion in medical facilities." Meth Scanner is one in a wide portfolio of patented/patent pending innovations designed to determine the presence of narcotics, including devices that can integrate their detection technology into medical products that already exist.

       It's hard to imagine a broader category for medical innovation than that of safety. CDEX has certainly made a big business of this, and maybe you can, too.

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Medical Patent Opportunity in "Skin Cell Therapy"?

Posted on December 7, 2007 by John Rizvi

        An article in today's online edition of BBC News (BBC News Online, December 7, 2007) explored the ins and outs of "reprogramming skin cells" to combat sickle cell anemia. Researchers at the Whitehead Institute of Biomedical Research in Massachussetts are conducting intense research to discover a safe way to turn skin cells into stem cells. Partly, this is to skirt around the controversy surrounding the use of stem cells and partly it reflects the ready abundance of skin cells.

       And, herein lies the patenting opportunity as well as the heart of the ethical debate. The researchers have yet to find a way to keep the reprogrammed skin cells from making random DNA changes elsewhere in the body, which can lead to dangerous complications like cancer. This is because, at the moment, researchers are using retroviruses to insert therapeutic genes into  skin cells to create what they call "induced pluripotent stem cells," or IPS. Retroviruses are volatile and "can disrupt genes that should not be disrupted or activate genes that should not be activated," which, of course, can lead to harmful side effects.

    Developing a patented "delivery system that doesn't integrate itself into the genome" is the specific area of opportunity, but I wonder if it's possible? Stem cells themselves are pluripotent, meaning they are able to be transformed into any type of cell within the body. The team continues to conduct research to discover the secrets within our cells and DNA, and maybe one day (and maybe sooner than we think) it will become a patented reality. On the other hand, maybe we cannot hope to wholly control or transform our cells--the most fundamental unit of our lives--without unintended, disastrous consequences. A patented impossibility?

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