Genaissance Receives Patent for Genetic Predisposition Test

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has awarded a patent to Genaissance Pharmaceuticals for a method testing individuals for genetic predisposition to reduced metabolism of drugs.

The allowed patent, which is co-owned with Duke University, claims testing for a common genetic variant in the CYP3A4 gene to predict poor metabolism of certain drugs. Research shows that at least 50 percent of all drugs, including chemotherapeutic agents and a wide variety of OTC medications, are metabolized by the CYP3A4 enzyme, the company said.

The patent, "Methods for Evaluating the Ability to Metabolize Pharmaceuticals," describes the selection of chemotherapeutic agents based on the presence or absence of this variant, which is commonly called CYP3A4*1B. The patent also describes how a mutation in the GSTM1 gene affects drug metabolism.