Cenestra Health Issued Key Omega-3 Formulations Patent

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Jan 27, 2010, 03:00 ET

NEW HAVEN, Conn., Jan. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- Cenestra Health announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a key patent related to the company's high-purity omega-3 fatty acid formulations and their methods of use. U.S. Patent No. 7652068, entitled "Omega-3 Fatty Acid Formulations," covers a unique, high-purity formulation of the omega-3 fatty acids EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid).

"The claims allowed by the USPTO are an important milestone for Cenestra Health's scientific efforts to differentiate its novel omega-3 formulations," said Ann Coric, M.D., a co-founder of the company. "Our research supports a paradigm shift in thinking about omega-3s by showing that the relative ratios of EPA and DHA play an important role in the beneficial effects of omega-3 fatty acids. The idea that all omega-3 formulations are the same just doesn't hold up anymore--we've shown that purity and the relative ratio of EPA to DHA confer unique properties to the action of omega-3 fatty acids."

Scientific data obtained from third party academic laboratories support Cenestra Health's proprietary formulation as having novel properties compared to other omega-3 products. These studies show that Cenestra Health's proprietary omega-3 formulations simultaneously decrease key pro-inflammatory mediators implicated in cardiovascular and inflammatory disorders while also increasing expression of a key nerve growth factor, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is associated with antidepressant properties. In addition, preclinical animal models using Cenestra Health's proprietary formulation demonstrated anti-depressant-like properties over other products formulated with varying EPA:DHA ratios.

"We are pleased by the USPTO's decision and we are evaluating our development platform in light of the potential therapeutic implications offered by a differentiated and proprietary EPA:DHA omega-3 formulation," said Louis Sanfilippo, M.D., a Managing Director of Cenestra Health. "In preliminary studies, our high purity and approximately 4:1 EPA to DHA formulation demonstrated robust inhibition of key inflammatory mediators (including IL-1-beta and TNF-alpha), triglyceride lowering properties and favorable effects on BDNF. We are actively exploring partnership opportunities to further build on our scientific findings and commercialize a fully differentiated pharmaceutical grade omega-3."

About Cenestra, LLC (D/B/A Cenestra Health)

Cenestra Health is a privately-held New Haven, Connecticut based biotech company founded to formulate and market "best-in-class" proprietary natural products with applications in the OTC, medical food and pharmaceutical markets. Cenestra Health currently markets (www.omax3.com) its now proprietary pharmaceutical grade omega-3 fatty acid product Omax3®, The Ultra-Pure Omega-3 Supplement®, in the United States, United Kingdom and parts of the European Union.

About Omega-3 Essential Fatty Acids

Omega-3 fatty acids are considered "essential" fatty acids (EFAs) as they are necessary to human health but cannot be produced by the body. The two major health promoting omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids are eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). EPA and DHA have been shown to promote good physical and emotional health, reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, and exert powerful anti-inflammatory effects.

Sales of omega-3 fatty acids represent a substantial market opportunity in the supplement, food and prescription markets. World-wide annual supplement sales of omega-3 fatty acids are estimated in excess of US $1 billion dollars and the current annual run rate for end-user sales of prescription omega-3s is estimated at US$ 1.1 billion.

Statements made in this press release should not to be construed as making any specific claim or claims for Omax3® in the diagnosis, prevention or treatment of any disease or disorder but may relate to historical facts and information that reflect forward looking statements based on Cenestra Health's intellectual property and scientific data.