Pakistani researchers secure US patent for therapeutic drug monitoring technology

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The patent recognises a novel microfluidics device invented by the team of researchers that will enable the monitoring of terminally ill patients-- File photo

ISLAMABAD: The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted a patent to a team of researchers from COMSATS University, Islamabad for a new technology they have developed.

The patent recognises a novel microfluidics device invented by the team of researchers that will enable the monitoring of terminally ill patients being given therapeutic drugs or those undergoing treatment from sensitive drugs which require real time monitoring to prevent over-dose.

The team comprises Dr Madeeha Chaudry, Dr Malik Abdul Rehman, Prof Dr Raheel Qamar and Prof Dr Arshad Saleem Bhatti.

This US patent is an outcome of research undertaken by Dr Madeeha Chaudry for her PhD, which led to the creation of a novel device for real-time drug monitoring of patients using very small blood serum samples on the principle of a microchip assay.

The inter-disciplinary research was carried out jointly by the Department of Physics and the Department of Biosciences at COMSATS University, Islamabad.

The patent application incorporates data submitted as part of the Pakistani Patent Application No.339/2016 and will enable Pakistani researchers to commercialize their research in the United States. 

COMSATS University Islamabad is a leading public sector university of the Ministry of Science and Technology, which has developed a comprehensive patent profile of over 21 US patents and 6 Pakistani patents under various stages of commercialization, and submitted over 84 US patent applications which are in various stages of evaluation and approval within a short span of time.

Originally published in The News