Molecular diagnostics company Co-Diagnostics said today that its CoPrimer technology the company uses in its COVID-19 and other molecular diagnostics tests was granted broader patient protection by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.
The company originally received a patent on the CoPrimer molecule in October 2018. According to Co-Diagnostics this technology enhances the output of polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based tests that significantly reduces false positive test results. The initial patent provided protection for CoPrimer’s use in PCR, but not he molecule itself. The enhanced patent protection announced today includes the physical structure of the CoPrimer molecule, including broad claims that would include all configurations of a molecule with such a structure.
“Receiving this additional patent emphasizes the uniqueness of our CoPrimer technology,” said Dwight Egan, company CEO. “The beneficial advantages of CoPrimers in test design and performance are already being realized by laboratories across the country and rest of the world, particularly in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic.”
CoPrimer technology is the platform used in Co-Diagnostics’ Logix Smart COVID-19 testing kits. These kits have been authorized for use in the U.S., the European Union, Mexico, India, and Australia, among others. In late March, the company received and Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the FDA. And in April, as the pandemic was accelerating and demand for SARS-CoV-2 testing kits was skyrocketing, the company inked a deal with Promega to produce the Logix Smart kits to meet increasing demand.
According to Egan, the technology is used in the products that are manufactured and marketed by the company’s joint venture, CoSara Diagnostics, In India
CoPrimer has also been licensed for certain applications by LGC, Biosearch Technologies, an international leader in the extended life sciences sector, whose footprint covers over 200 countries.
In addition to infectious disease diagnostics, the company is leveraging the CoPrimer technology in other areas including liquid biopsy, next-generation sequencing applications, and in its AgBio business for mosquito abatement.
