News

Two of Expression Pathology's key patents covering its DIRECTOR™ Slide technology for improved tissue laser microdissection have issued

Gaithersburg, MD. May 19, 2008: Expression Pathology Inc. (EPI), a leader in tissue protein analysis, announced that two key patents have issued covering its DIRECTOR™ Slide technology for improved tissue laser microdissection.

A proprietary laser-activated energy transfer coating on standard glass slides allows precise, convenient and automatable non-contact microdissection of specific cell types from tissue. Current methods employ plastic films or adhesives which require direct contact with the tissue. They must be cut or activated along with the tissue, limiting speed and automation and introducing potential contaminants. By contrast, DIRECTOR™ Slides make possible rapid, non-contact harvesting of even the finest cellular features. They are compatible with existing laser microdissection instruments available from Leica and Zeiss and suitable for genomic and proteomic applications.

An Issue Notification has been received for U.S. patent number 7,381,440 titled Biological Printing for Tissue Microdissection Via Indirect Photon-Biomaterial Interactions, issued to the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory. Two of EPI’s founders are co-inventors and EPI has exclusive worldwide rights to tissue research and diagnostics applications. This complements EPI’s rights to another patent covering this technology, U. S. patent number 7,294,367 issued to the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory November 13, 2007.

“ These patents, together with our Liquid Tissue® technology for solubilizing the protein content of tissue, are integral to our tissue proteomics strategy for discovery and measurement of proteins in tissue,” said Casey Eitner, EPI’s president and chief executive officer. “Pathologist-directed automated microdissection is a key part of our platform to enable the use of mass spectrometry for analysis of proteins in routine patent biopsies and surgical tissue, a $1.2 billion market.”

DIRECTOR™ slides bring a whole new level of speed and accuracy to laser microdissection, allowing collection directly into a vial, while eliminating the need for plastic membrane-coated slides or sticky caps. These membrane-free slides employ a proprietary energy transfer coating bonded to a glass support. UV-laser energy is converted to kinetic energy upon striking the energy transfer coating, vaporizing it, thereby propelling selected features into the vial. The laser energy is absorbed by the coating so sensitive molecules such as RNA or DNA are not damaged.

DIRECTOR™ slides are inert to a wide range of chemical and thermal conditions. They can be autoclaved, and are stable in organic solvents such as xylenes. The slides can be rendered sterile or RNase-free with any standard method. They show no autofluorescence and are optically neutral, making them ideal for applications requiring fluorescent stains, as well as applications requiring DIC or polarized light.

About Expression Pathology Inc.
EPI is developing proprietary cancer tests and research tools to study and measure proteins in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue, the format of patient tissue routinely collected and stored in medical treatment and research facilities. FFPE tissue constitutes a huge untapped resource for discovery, validation and measurement of valuable biomarkers of disease progression, drug response and toxicity.

EPI’s Liquid Tissue® sample preparation and DIRECTOR™ laser microdissection technologies enable mass spectrometry-based discovery and measurement of proteins in FFPE tissue. EPI offers these as research products, contract services and collaborative research programs. For more information, see www.expressionpathology.com.

Expression Pathology Inc.
Peter Tunon, Vice President Sales and Marketing
9290 Gaither Road
Gaithersburg, MD 20877
Phone: (301) 977-3654
E-mail: p.tunon@expressionpathology.com