Provia Laboratories, a bio-banking project of Grace Century, an International research and private equity consultancy located in Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, has announced its first ever patent.

The patent is entitled "Cryopreservation Device with Retrofitted Electronic Tracking Device". The newly-developed technology will have significant benefits in terms of monitoring the movement, temperature and tracking of stored bio-specimens and their associated data over their lifetime, which ultimately increases the reliability and integrity of bio-specimens.

The banking and future use of bio-specimens is an important aspect of "personalized medicine", a growing scientific field which is being increasingly employed for selecting the most suitable treatments based on the genetic or molecular information from the individual being treated.

The chances of a treatment for an illness being successful are generally higher using a personalized medicine approach compared to using a traditional broad-brush approach, where the treatment given for an illness is based on what has been successful for large sample groups rather than the individual being treated.

Provia chief executive Howard Greenman said: "This patent represents the next generation of our Proviasette storage container technology used for optimized bio-banking of frozen tissue bio-specimens. The patent covers the use of an electronic tracking device fitted to the storage container which can hold samples, such as extremely valuable tumors frequently collected and stored for vital oncology research."

Scott Wolf, CEO of Grace Century said: "We have been impressed from the beginning of our association with Provia and their obvious commitment to quality. In our belief, their technology represents nothing less that should be acceptable in this field of research, and this patent is a testament to their commitment.”

Nearly 40 institutions, covering the pharmaceutical, biotechnology, medical and government sectors use the Provia's Proviasette storage container technology, a statement said.

Headquartered in the US city of Littleton, MA, Provia Laboratories, is a healthcare services company specializing in high-quality bio-banking (the collection, transport, processing and cryogenic storage of biological specimens). – TradeArabia News Service