Redpoint Bio Corporation (OTCBB: RPBC), a company developing ingredients to improve the taste of pharmaceutical, food and beverage products, today announced the issuance of Patent No. 7,364,867, by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, covering the use of assay technology used for the purpose of identifying potential activators of the TRPM5 ion channel (formerly known as the TRP8 ion channel). The TRPM5 ion channel is highly expressed in taste receptor cells and is associated with the perception of bitter, sweet and savory (umami) tastes.
This patent is part of Redpoint Bio™s founding intellectual property portfolio, originally developed in the laboratory of Robert Margolskee, M.D., Ph.D., and exclusively licensed from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Redpoint Bio currently owns or has exclusive licenses to a total of nine U.S. patents and three foreign patents. In addition, the Company has over 50 U.S. and foreign patent applications pending.
Commenting on today™s news, Dr. Raymond Salemme, Chief Executive Officer of Redpoint Bio, noted, We are very pleased to have received notice of this latest patent issuance, which we believe, in combination with a similar issuance announced in March 2008, further solidifies the Company™s intellectual property position around technology for the discovery of taste modulators of the TRPM5 ion channel.
About Redpoint Bio
Redpoint Bio is leveraging recent discoveries in the molecular biology of taste to discover and develop novel taste modulators for the food, beverage and pharmaceutical industries. Redpoint Bio’s food and beverage program is focused on identifying novel compounds that improve the tastes of existing ingredients and enable the development of better-tasting and more healthful foods and beverages. The pharmaceutical program uses a biochemical approach aimed at suppressing the bitterness of medicines, which has the potential to expand the range of formulation options and increase patient compliance. For more information, please visit the Company’s website at www.redpointbio.com.
Safe Harbor Statement
In addition to historical facts or statements of current condition, this press release contains forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the “Safe Harbor” provisions of
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements provide the Company’s current expectations or forecasts of future events. The Company’s performance and financial results could differ materially from those reflected in these forward-looking statements due to, among other factors, uncertainty inherent in the discovery phase of technological development, any efforts by third parties to invalidate or limit any patents, the marketplace acceptance of its products, the decisions of regulatory authorities, the results of clinical trials and general financial, economic, regulatory and political conditions affecting the food, biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries generally. Given these risks and uncertainties, any or all of these forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statement.
