Pharmaprint Granted Patent for Saw Palmetto Standardization

IRVINE, Calif.--PharmaPrint Inc. was granted U.S. Patent Number 6,039,950 for its biological and standardization of saw palmetto. According to the company, this is the first known patent of a biological standardization process.

PharmaPrint's chairman of the board, C. Richard Piazza, said the patent should prove to pharmaceutical companies that botanicals are patentable. According to Piazza, the patent protects the development of pharmaceutical grade saw palmetto, often used to treat the prostate, by patenting a single method for the standardization process. The patent measures both bioactivity and the amount of active chemical constituents, said Piazza.

According to Piazza, the company is currently pursuing other claims on saw palmetto.