Senomyx taste patents unlock flavour potential
screen for compounds could give Senomyx a significant edge in the
race to identify new flavour ingredients.
The patent covers human bitter taste receptors activated by the commonly used high-potency sweeteners saccharin and acesulfame potassium, which many individuals associate with a bitter taste.
The receptors claimed in US Patent No. 7,105,650, entitled "T2R Taste Receptors and Genes Encoding Same," may therefore be used in Senomyx's proprietary assay systems to screen for new flavour ingredients that block the bitter taste imparted by certain sweeteners.
Scientists have long assumed that bitter taste evolved as a defence mechanism to detect potentially harmful toxins in plants. Research, published in the September 19 issue of the journal Current Biology (Vol. 16, R792-R794), claims to be the first paper to provide direct evidence in support of this hypothesis.
"The primary goal of Senomyx's bitter taste modulation programme is to reduce or block bitter taste and to improve the overall taste characteristics of packaged foods and beverages," said Senomyx chief executive Kent Snyder.
"The new patent strengthens Senomyx's position as a leader in the use of proprietary human taste receptor-based assays to discover novel flavour ingredients."
Competition in the $10.4 billion global flavour and fragrance sector is rapidly increasing. In the US alone, demand for sweeteners grew to over $1 billion in 2004 on the back of growing concern over sugar consumption.
On top of this, on a sugar-sweetness-equivalent basis, many high intensity sweeteners are in fact less expensive than sugar. Any patent-protected development in this sector could therefore potentially be highly lucrative.
Indeed, the US firm has already be granted a patent covering the use of the human sweet taste receptor to screen for compounds. US Patent No. 6,955,887, entitled "Use of T1R Hetero-Oligomeric Taste Receptor to Screen for Compounds that Modulate Taste Signalling," gives the firm broad-based claims that cover novel techniques for using the human sweet taste receptor as the basis for assay systems.
Senomyx is now the owner or exclusive licensee of 76 issued patents and 299 pending patent applications in the US, Europe, and elsewhere. The company has also pending patent applications covering other bitter taste receptors and their use in identifying bitter taste blockers.
"These assay systems are more rapid, efficient, and sensitive than traditional flavour discovery methods," said Snyder.
"In addition to our bitter taste modulation programme, Senomyx is currently focusing on the discovery and development of flavours and flavour enhancers in the savoury, sweet, and salt areas."
Senomyx has also entered into product discovery and development collaborations with six leading food and beverage companies: Ajinomoto, Cadbury Schweppes, Campbell Soup Company, The Coca-Cola Company, Kraft Foods, and Nestle.
"We intend to continue to leverage our discovery and development capabilities by establishing new collaborations with market leading companies that are looking to enhance the nutritional profile or taste characteristics of their products by reducing the levels of carbohydrate sweeteners, salt, or monosodium glutamate (MSG), or to modulate bitter tastes," said Snyder.
