AtheroNova, Inc. (OTCBB: AHRO) recently announced the allowance of their patent application for a compound that has shown, in early studies, the ability to actually remove plaque in cases of atherosclerosis. While further studies are needed, the U.S. Patent Office has confirmed the promise of their compound and the intellectual property rights add value to the company.

The current standard of care for atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries with plaque) is a class of drugs called statins. While statins have been generally shown to improve mortality rates and decrease disease events resulting from the condition, they have not been shown to be effective at removing or decreasing the plaque itself. That is the function of AHRO’s patented compound.  Considering that coronary artery disease is the No. 1 killer of Americans and that half of all strokes are caused by atherosclerosis, the company could make a huge impact on the health of patients as well as on their own valuation. Here is the release…

AtheroNova Inc., a biotech company focused on the research and development of compounds to regress atherosclerotic plaque, announced that it has received a Notice of Allowance for its patent application for Dissolution of Arterial Plaque.  The patent will issue within the next few months when the US Patent Office completes its registration process. This announcement culminates over five years of effort in pursuit of a patent covering the use of hyodeoxycholic acid for atherosclerotic plaque lesions.

“We have worked diligently with our patent counsel, McDermott Will & Emery LLP, to achieve this major milestone and we want to thank them for their efforts,” said AtheroNova CEO Thomas W. Gardner.  “We are very confident that this patent will support our development project for AHRO-001 and will enhance our ability to fully capitalize on the intellectual property potential that this patent represents. We can now move forward with several additional compounds in the AHRO family described in our patent applications. AtheroNova is continuing to build significant momentum as we prepare for initiation of our Phase I clinical trials later this year.”

“We are pleased that the U.S. Patent Office has found AtheroNova’s claims for treating atherosclerosis using a bile acid to be patentable,” stated James W. Hill, MD, AtheroNova’s patent counsel with McDermott Will & Emery. “The method involves administering the naturally occurring bile acid hyodeoxycholic acid, or HDCA, to a patient such that its concentration in the patient’s blood is maintained above a certain level for a period of time. In mice studies at UCLA, HDCA was effective in inhibiting progression of arterial plaque in a way that may bode well for treatment of human atherosclerosis.”

About AHRO-001

AHRO-001 is AtheroNova’s first novel application for the treatment and prevention of atherosclerosis. Atherosclerotic plaque is the primary underlying cause of heart disease and stroke in industrialized countries. AtheroNova uses certain pharmacological compounds to regress atherosclerotic plaque deposits through a process known as delipidization. Delipidization dissolves plaques in artery walls, which are then removed by natural body processes. AtheroNova plans to develop multiple applications for its patents-pending compounds that can be used in pharmaceutical-grade products for the treatment of atherosclerosis. Atherosclerosis and related pharmaceutical costs run more than $41 billion annually in the United States alone.  Market sectors potentially served by AHRO-001 include: Cardiovascular Disease, Stroke, Peripheral Artery Disease, Dementia and Alzheimer’s and Erectile Dysfunction, all of which have been linked to atherosclerosis.