Rosetta wins European patent covering core element of microRNA technology

Rosetta Genomics has won a European patent covering the use of miR-34a in the preparation of pharmaceuticals used to treat p53-negative cancers.

The patent covers a core element of Rosetta’s microRNA technology in the development of cancer therapeutics associated with p53-negative cancers. Rosetta Genomics president and chief executive officer Kenneth Berlin said, “This patent is important as it protects key elements of our microRNA technology to develop treatments for a variety of cancers.”

The issued patent is collectively owned with Yeda, the technology transfer company of the Weizmann Institute of Science. The miR-34a is a direct transcriptional target of p53, which may mediate some of the biological effects of the tumor suppressor.