Australian medical diagnostics company BARD1 Life Sciences (ASX:BD1) has received confirmation that validation has been completed for granted European Patent number 2619218 titled 'Kits for detecting breast or ovarian cancer in a body fluid sample and use thereof'.
The patent was granted by the EPO on 29 April 2020. EP patents are not enforceable until validation has been completed in the designated countries. The company said EP261918 has now been validated in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
The issued EP 2619218 claims are directed to kits comprising peptides from BARD1 isoforms for detecting autoantibodies associated with breast or ovarian cancer. The patent application was filed on 23 September 2011 and is due to expire on 23 September 2031.
BARD1 CEO Dr Leearne Hinch said, “This core patent family provides intellectual property protection in the US and Europe for our BARD1-Ovarian and BARD1-Breast cancer tests in development for early detection of ovarian and breast cancers.”
The BARD1-Ovarian test is in development for early detection of ovarian cancer in high-risk women with Hereditary Breast Ovarian Cancer (HBOC).
There is currently no screening test recommended for ovarian cancer. It is often diagnosed at a late-stage and after symptoms have occurred. The five-year survival rate is 47 per cent.