European patent grant

Omega Diagnostics Group PLC
06 November 2006


                          Omega Diagnostics Group PLC

                             European patent grant

Omega Diagnostics Group PLC is pleased to announce that a European Patent
(0994121) has been granted in respect of its Branched Peptide technology which
has been exclusively licensed from the Medical Research Council (MRC). The
Patent covers the enabling technology that allows assays to be developed with
resulting superior sensitivity and specificity, which are key features of any
new diagnostic test. The technology is currently being applied to a new test for
Herpes Simplex Virus 2 (HSV-2) and it has already shown to be effective in
increasing the efficacy of other tests such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus
(HIV)


In addition to the grant of the Branched Peptide Patent in Europe, a US Patent
(5,965,357) has already been granted in respect of the specific peptide sequence
for HSV-2 which means that the intellectual property aspect of this development
is well covered for the future.


HSV is a chronic disease that infects over 1 billion people worldwide. It is
also estimated that there are over 60 million adults in the US infected with
HSV-2 and because HSV-2 is difficult to diagnose, the need for more accurate
diagnosis is acute.



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