 |
A patent application has surfaced that shows Galderma claiming an invention that is a diagnostic test for rosacea.
A patent application does not guarantee that any particular invention or discovery is valid, just that a company wants to claim the rights to the intellectual property it contains. Indeed some patents will be filed purely to block competitors from pursuing similar lines of research.
Still, it might point to something potentially interesting about the pathogenesis of rosacea, if a simple set of indicative markers could exactly define the disease.
What is the Invention?
The invention claims that examining the expression of a subset of the following, and looking for an over expression of ;
- IL-8,
- CXCL2,
- CXCL3
- CXCL5,
- the CXCR1 receptor,
- the CXCR2 receptor.
The levels of expression are also claimed to be valid for determining the progression of the condition and to evaluate the efficacy of any treatments.
How is Rosacea Diagnosed?
According to the Standard Classification of Rosacea, sufferers of rosacea are likely to have primary features;
- flushing
- non transient redness
- papules and pustules
- telangiectasia
and one or more secondary features:
- burning or stinging
- plaque
- dry appearance
- swelling
- ocular symptoms
- phymatous changes
As you can see the official diagnosis of rosacea is a list very varied symptoms. If a simple list of genetic markers was to be proven to describe rosacea it would be a nice achievement.
One of the inventors Martin Steinhoff has recently published research related to neurogenic rosacea. All 4 inventors were also mentioned in a related patent application – PACAP Signalling Pathway Modulators for Treating Inflammatory Skin Diseases with a Neurogenic Component.
MARKERS AND METHOD FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF ROSACEA
United States Patent Application: 20130017969
Inventors: Aubert; Jerome; (Grasse, FR) ; Steinhoff; Martin; (San Francisco, CA) ; Rivier; Michel; (Nice, FR) ; Voegel; Johannes; (Chateauneuf/Grasse, FR)
Assignee: UNIVERSITAT MUNSTER, Munster, DE.
GALDERMA RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT, Biot, FR.Filed: December 16, 2010
371 Date: October 4, 2012
The invention relates to markers for rosacea among the chemokines and cytokines and their receptors, chosen from interleukin 8 (IL-8), CXCL1, CXCL2, CXCL3 and CXCL5, the CXCR1 receptor and the CXCR2 receptor, and also to a method for the diagnosis of rosacea.
Update
Another Rosacea diagnostic test patent belonging to Galderma has surfaced. This one relates to a peptide known as Galanin.
WO2013087809 METHOD FOR THE DIAGNOSIS OF ROSACEA
The present invention relates to a method for the diagnosis of rosacea, comprising measuring the expression of a peptide from the galanin family, and more preferably galanin, GMAP, GALP, preproGALP and alarin.
David,
You cease to amaze me with your findings and interesting comments. We shall see what happens, if anything from this patent.