ERGO >>RECEIVES PATENT//Entia’s Organic Vitamin D Enrichment Process Receives US Patent
Penn State Research Foundation Expands Company’s Exclusive License
Sherwood, Oregon - Entia Biosciences, Inc. (ERGO) announced today that it was notified by its licensor, The Penn State Research Foundation, that the patent entitled “Methods and Compositions for Improving the Nutritional Content of Mushrooms and Fungi” was issued as US Patent number 8,337,921. The patent describes how pulsed ultraviolet (UV) light can safely increase the amount of natural vitamin D by as much as 1000% in less than 30 seconds. On May 31, 2013, Entia was granted an amendment to its previously announced exclusive license that expands its commercialization rights for the technology to all ingestible and non-ingestible applications world-wide. Specifically excluded in this amendment are US supermarket sales of fresh, frozen, or canned Agaricus bisporus and any pre-existing rights created by the use of US government funding.
Vitamin D is essential for life and is believed to play an important role in maintaining blood levels of phosphorus and calcium, promoting bone mineralization and calcium absorption, maintaining a healthy immune system, and regulating cell differentiation and growth. Deficiency of this essential vitamin has been linked to a variety of serious medical conditions including obesity, diabetes, cancer, chronic heart disease, anemia, inflammatory bowel disease, MS, Parkinson’s, and Alzheimer’s disease. Recent demographic studies have revealed that significant numbers of people from a variety of countries are not getting enough Vitamin D. In Canada, for example, 85% of the population is considered clinically deficient and researchers project that increasing the mean serum level of Vitamin D above normal could potentially reduce annual deaths in Canada by 16.1% and decrease health care costs by 6.9% or $14.4 billion dollars (W.B. Grant et al, Mol.Nutr.Food Res.2010,54:1-10).
Called the “sunshine vitamin” because it can be synthesized by skin exposure to the sun, vitamin D can also be acquired through dietary sources and supplementation. The most common forms are ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) which is plant-based and cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) which is extracted from animal byproducts. To help alleviate deficiency in the general population, a number of food staples are now being fortified with D2 and D3. In the US, almost all of the milk supply is being fortified voluntarily (100 IU/cup) and in Canada the milk and margarine is fortified by law (35 IU/100ml and 530 IU/100g respectively). Both countries mandate vitamin D fortification of infant formula and a number of major food brands are fortifying their orange juice, yogurt, and other products.
Mushrooms are already one of the richest sources of naturally occurring vitamin D2 and with the discovery of the UV enrichment process, this vegan source of vitamin D is an attractive new alternative to the synthetic or chemically extracted supplements available in the marketplace. Additional benefits of UV enhanced mushrooms are the cofactors and other bionutrients contained in the whole food especially: selenium, ergothioneine, beta and chitan glucans. In a recent study by the Boston University School of Medicine, researchers concluded that the consumption of UV enhanced mushrooms is as effective at increasing and maintaining vitamin D levels as taking equivalent concentrations of synthetic D2 or D3 supplements. The study also observed that the UV enrichment process produced vitamin D3 and D4 in some mushrooms suggesting that UV enhanced mushrooms are a good natural food source providing several types of vitamin D and provitamin D (J. Bogusz et al, The FASEB Journal.2013,27:794.4).
Entia intends to utilize this important technology to develop, scientifically validate, and supply proprietary new medical foods, nutraceutical products, dietary supplements (similar to the 2000 IU capsules used in the Boston University study), and ingredients (mushroom powders and extracts) that can be used in a variety of ingestible and topically applied products, including the GROH® line of hair care and beauty products that are expected to launch later this year. The Company’s ErgoD2® formulations are also currently being used in human and animal studies on anemia, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease. The Company announced earlier this year that it has received expanded USDA Organic Certification, which includes the UV enrichment process, for its manufacturing facilities in Sherwood, OR.
Entia does not intend to sell UV enriched whole, slice or cut mushrooms to supermarkets in North America and encourages growers to contact Devin Andres, Entia’s Chief Operating Officer, to receive information on the sublicensing opportunities available for all species in Canada and for non-Agaricus bisporus in the US. Sublicenses for the production of UV enhanced mushroom powders, extracts, and the products that contain them are currently not being offered.
About Entia Biosciences, Inc.
Entia is an authority on the clinical effects of oxidative stress and free radical reactions and is bringing this expertise to food science biotechnology and the field of nutrigenomics. The Company identifies, scientifically validates, patents, and commercializes solutions that address multi-billion dollar markets for health, beauty and agriculture. For more information, please visit our web sites at www.entiabio.com or contact:
Devin Andres
Chief Operating Officer
Entia Biosciences, Inc.
13565 SW Tualatin-Sherwood Rd Sherwood, OR, 97140
Phone: (503) 334-3575; Email: info@entiabio.com
Any statements contained in this press release that relate to future plans, events or performance are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the risks associated with the transaction described in this press release, and other risks identified in the filings by Entia Biosciences with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Further information on risks faced by the Company and its shareholders are detailed in the Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 and in its subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. These filings are or will become available on a website maintained by the Securities and Exchange Commission at http://www.sec.gov. The information contained in this press release is accurate as of the date indicated. Actual results, events or performance may differ materially. Entia does not undertake any obligation to publicly release the result of any revision to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
SOURCE Entia Biosciences, Inc.
