February 2014—Enzo Biochem published a study in Modern Pathology that shows a strong association between idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) and the presence of the herpesvirus saimiri virus, a virus native to squirrel monkeys. The breakthrough discovery of the IPF’s origin is expected to result in a clinical diagnostic that could lead to screening and diagnosis, and perhaps result in potential treatment, for this fatal disease.
The study was authored by scientists from Enzo Biochem, Ohio State University, the Medical College of Wisconsin, and Cornell University. The discovery is the subject of a patent application that is assigned exclusively to Enzo Biochem.
“The significance of this discovery, beyond providing a reliable marker for screening and diagnosis, is the potential for development of new therapeutic strategies and better understanding of the progression of the disease in humans,” Elazar Rabbani, study co-author and chief executive officer of Enzo, said in a statement. “This may also translate into a patient’s ability to live with the disease or even be cured if the fibrosis is not too advanced.”
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