Singapore, May 7, 2008: The Japan Patent Office has licensed GeneCards by Xennex. The company also announced that it has selected Bioscene Informatics as its exclusive partner for the distribution of GeneCards in Japan.

 

GeneCards will be utilized to assist the JPO in the review and approval of patent applications in the life sciences area. With this agreement, GeneCards becomes an important component in the process of approving relevant biotech patent applications at the JPO. Patent examiners from the JPO will access GeneCards to conduct prior art research and help determine if an invention can be patented. The European Patent Office has been using GeneCards under a license from Xennex since 2005.

 

Dr. David Warshawsky, CEO of Xennex said, "We are very pleased that the JPO has chosen GeneCards to assist in their work. GeneCards is a very useful tool for professionals dealing with intellectual property in the life sciences area, including biotech, pharma, and intellectual property law firms. The EPO has been using GeneCards very successfully for several years now; with the JPO's licensing of GeneCards, we continue to expand our presence in the intellectual property field. We believe that as the worldwide intellectual property arena expands and nations increase their cooperation on intellectual property issues, GeneCards will have an important and lasting contribution to the uniformity required for this cooperative process."