ChromaDex Announces Two Patent Issuances for Novel Ingredient, Pterostilbene

26 Nov 2014 --- The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted patent #8,809,400 B2 (referred to as the '400 patent) and #8,841,350 B2 (referred to as the '350 patent) pertaining to the ingredient pterostilbene, both of which are licensed exclusively to ChromaDex Corp., an innovative natural products company that provides proprietary ingredients and science-based solutions to the dietary supplement, food and beverage, animal health, cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.

These are the second and third ChromaDex-held patents issued for pterostilbene and several additional patents are pending.

The '400 patent, entitled "Method to Ameliorate Oxidative Stress and Improve Working Memory Via Pterostilbene Administration," relates to a method of using pterostilbene to forestall, prevent and reverse the effects of neuronal and behavioral aging and the development of neurodegenerative diseases. Specifically, pterostilbene is shown in research studies to be effective in reversing motor deficits and working memory of subjects. The patent application was initially filed in August 2011 by the U. S. Department of Agriculture. Subsequently, ChromaDex was granted an exclusive worldwide license to all rights of the pterostilbene patent from the University of Mississippi and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), which is USDA's principal intramural scientific research agency. The term of the license is up to and including the expiration of various pterostilbene patents and pending patents held by the licensors.

Dr. Agnes Rimando, co-inventor of the patent, first encountered pterostilbene when she was a graduate student at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Dr. Rimando is a research chemist with the USDA-ARS Natural Products Utilization Research Unit, housed in the University of Mississippi Thad Cochran Research Center. Dr. Rimando's pterostilbene studies led to the discovery of its presence in blueberries, as well as the finding that the ingredient activates a protein involved in fatty acid metabolism. Additional co-inventors of the '400 patent are Dr. James Joseph (deceased) and Dr. Barbara Shukitt-Hale, who is with the Neuroscience and Aging Laboratory at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University.

The '350 patent relates to a method of administering an effective amount of pterostilbene to a subject in order to suppress or prevent the progression of a precancerous disease (associated with photodamage to the skin) to non-melanoma skin cancer by inducing UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UGT) activity. UGT is an enzyme responsible for the process of glucuronidation, which changes unwanted compounds into a more water-soluble version to allow for easier elimination from the body. It is known that UGTs prevent melanoma invasiveness by eliminating toxic compounds and are lost during melanoma progression.

The University of California Irvine (UCI) and ChromaDex jointly filed this pterostilbene patent application in May 2012 and, subsequently, ChromaDex was granted an exclusive worldwide license to all rights in the patent. The term of the license is up to and including the expiration of various pterostilbene patents and patents pending held by the licensors. Co-inventor of the '350 patent, Dr. Ryan Dellinger – who now holds the position of Director, Scientific Affairs at ChromaDex – performed the patent research while previously employed as Assistant Project Scientist in the Department of Medicine at UCI. Dr. Dellinger focused his research on how the use of natural compounds could mitigate UV mediated skin disorders.

ChromaDex's proprietary pterostilbene, branded as pTeroPure, was named the 2010 North American Most Promising Ingredient of the Year by the independent research company Frost & Sullivan. A phase 2/3 clinical study of pTeroPure published in 2012 showed statistically significant results for its ability to lower blood pressure without any serious adverse side effects. ChromaDex launched pTeroPure in 2010 and today, more than 40 consumer products containing pTeroPure are on the market.

Pterostilbene has superior biological activity, better oral bioavailability and metabolizes more slowly in the body than other polyphenols, like resveratrol, allowing more time for its antioxidant activities to act. Along with a number of other effects, pterostilbene has shown great promise for supporting cardiovascular health, cognitive function and anti-aging.