Patents by Inventor Stephen Van Dien

Stephen Van Dien has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Publication number: 20230158088
    Abstract: Provided are compositions, including products of manufacture and kits, and methods, comprising combinations of microbes, such as non-pathogenic, live bacteria and/or bacterial spores, for the control, amelioration, prevention, and treatment of a disease or condition, for example, a viral infection such as a COVID19 infection, and these non-pathogenic, live bacteria and/or bacterial spores can be administered to an individual, thereby resulting in a modification or modulation of the individual's gut microfloral population(s), and by modulating or modifying the individual's gut microbial population(s) using compositions, products of manufacture and methods as provided herein, the pharmacodynamics or effectiveness of a drug or a vaccine administered to the individual is altered, for example, the pharmacodynamics of the drug or vaccine is enhanced, the individual's ability to absorb a drug is modified or the dose efficacy of a drug or vaccine is increased.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 26, 2021
    Publication date: May 25, 2023
    Inventors: Stephanie J. CULLER, Robert J. HASELBECK, Stephen VAN DIEN
  • Publication number: 20220378855
    Abstract: Provided are compositions, including products of manufacture and kits, and methods, comprising combinations of microbes, such as non-pathogenic, live bacteria and/or bacterial spores, for the control, amelioration, prevention, and treatment of a disease or condition, for example, a cancer. In alternative embodiment, these non-pathogenic, live bacteria and/or bacterial spores are administered to an individual in need thereof, thereby resulting in a modification or modulation of the individual's gut microfloral population(s). In alternative embodiments, by modulating or modifying the individual's gut microbial population(s) using compositions, products of manufacture and methods as provided herein, the pharmacodynamics of a drug administered to the individual is altered, thereby controlling, ameliorating, preventing and/or treating of that cancer.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 17, 2020
    Publication date: December 1, 2022
    Inventors: Stephanie J. CULLER, Robert J. HASELBECK, Stephen VAN DIEN, Anandh SWAMINATHAN, Hirokazu SATO
  • Patent number: 10844404
    Abstract: Disclosed are methods and engineered microorganisms that enhance or improve the production of crotyl alcohol. The engineered microorganisms include genetic modifications in alcohol dehydrogenase, alkene reductase or both enzymatic activities. By such genetic modifications, a crotyl alcohol production pathway is provided or improved.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2020
    Assignee: Genomatica Inc.
    Inventors: Stephanie J. Culler, Nicholas Eakley, Kevin Gregory Hoff, Robin E. Osterhout, Priti Pharkya, Erik C. Ralph, Stephen Van Dien
  • Publication number: 20180135082
    Abstract: Disclosed are methods and engineered microorganisms that enhance or improve the production of crotyl alcohol. The engineered microorganisms include genetic modifications in alcohol dehydrogenase, alkene reductase or both enzymatic activities. By such genetic modifications, a crotyl alcohol production pathway is provided or improved.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 7, 2016
    Publication date: May 17, 2018
    Applicant: GENOMATICA, iNC.
    Inventors: Stephanie J. Culler, Nicholas Eakley, Kevin Gregory Hoff, Robin E. Osterhout, Priti Pharkya, Erik C. Ralph, Stephen Van Dien
  • Patent number: 8030036
    Abstract: A bacterium belonging to the genus Escherichia which has an ability to produce L-lysine or L-threonine and which is modified so that a malic enzyme does not function normally in a cell, and a method for producing L-lysine or L-threonine, comprising culturing the bacterium in a medium to produce and cause accumulation of L-lysine or L-threonine, and collecting the L-lysine or L-threonine from the medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 24, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 4, 2011
    Assignee: Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Stephen Van Dien, Shintaro Iwatani, Yoshihiro Usuda, Kazuhiko Matsui, Yuta Nakai, Tomoko Suzuki, Mika Moriya, Yuichiro Tsuji, Takuji Ueda
  • Patent number: 7809511
    Abstract: A metabolic flux affecting substance production using cells is determined by 1) creating a stoichiometric matrix based on formulas of biochemical reactions from a substrate through a desired produced substance, 2) selecting the same number of independent metabolic fluxes from all metabolic fluxes as the degree of freedom of the stoichiometric matrix as free fluxes, 3) creating a sufficient number of random combinations of the free fluxes for a statistical analysis and calculating a metabolic flux distribution from each created combination based on the stoichiometric matrix, 4) obtaining a regression equation including a minimum number of free fluxes that shows a correlation with substance production from the calculated metabolic flux distributions by a multivariate statistical analysis, and 5) determining at least one metabolic flux affecting substance production based on a coefficient in the obtained regression equation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 24, 2006
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2010
    Assignee: Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Stephen Van Dien, Shintaro Iwatani, Yoshihiro Usuda, Kazuhiko Matsui, Takuji Ueda, Yuichiro Tsuji
  • Patent number: 7555392
    Abstract: A method for determining metabolic flux distribution of a cell, which comprises the steps of: 1) creating a stoichiometric matrix based on formulas of biochemical reactions from a substrate to a product, 2) computing a set of vectors of solutions existing in a solution space which the stoichiometric matrix may have, 3) selecting, from the computed set of vectors of solutions, maximum vectors whose vector elements corresponding to respective substances for which input values can be obtained are maximum, and 4) performing linear combination for the selected vectors in accordance with the following equations to obtain a vector representing metabolic flux distribution: S flux = ? i = 1 n ? a i · p i · S ? ( i ) + ? i = 1 n ? b i · q i · A ? ( i ) ( I ) ? i = 1 n ? a i + ? i = 1 n ? b i = 1 ( II ) Sflux: Vector representing metabolic flux distribution to be determined, S(i): Vector selected for substance for which inputted value c
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 1, 2005
    Date of Patent: June 30, 2009
    Assignee: Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Shintaro Iwatani, Stephen Van Dien, Yoshihiro Usuda, Kazuhiko Matsui
  • Publication number: 20090148915
    Abstract: A bacterium belonging to the genus Escherichia which has an ability to produce L-lysine or L-threonine and which is modified so that a malic enzyme does not function normally in a cell, and a method for producing L-lysine or L-threonine, comprising culturing the bacterium in a medium to produce and cause accumulation of L-lysine or L-threonine, and collecting the L-lysine or L-threonine from the medium.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 24, 2007
    Publication date: June 11, 2009
    Inventors: Stephen Van Dien, Shintaro Iwatani, Yoshihiro Usuda, Kazuhiko Matsui, Yuta Nakai, Tomoko Suzuki, Mika Moriya, Yuichiro Tsuji, Takuji Ueda
  • Patent number: 7306933
    Abstract: A bacterium belonging to the genus Escherichia which has an ability to produce L-lysine or L-threonine and which is modified so that a malic enzyme does not function normally in a cell, and a method for producing L-lysine or L-threonine, comprising culturing the bacterium in a medium to produce and cause accumulation of L-lysine or L-threonine, and collecting the L-lysine or L-threonine from the medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 3, 2006
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2007
    Assignee: Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
    Inventors: Stephen Van Dien, Shintaro Iwatani, Yoshihiro Usuda, Kazuhiko Matsui, Yuta Nakai, Tomoko Suzuki, Mika Moriya, Yuichiro Tsuji, Takuji Ueda
  • Publication number: 20070111294
    Abstract: The invention provides a non-naturally occurring microorganism comprising one or more gene disruptions encoding an enzyme associated with growth-coupled production of succinate when an activity of the enzyme is reduced, whereby the one or more gene disruptions confers stable growth-coupled production of succinate onto the non- naturally occurring microorganism. Also provided is a non-naturally occurring microorganism comprising a set of metabolic modifications obligatory coupling succinate production to growth of the microorganism, the set of metabolic modifications comprising disruption of one or more genes selected from the set of genes comprising: (a) adhE, ldhA; (b) adhE, ldhA, acka-pta; (c) pfl, ldhA; (d) pfl, ldhA, adhE; (e) acka-pta, pykF, atpF, sdhA; (f) acka-pta, pykF, ptsG, or (g) acka-pta, pykF, ptsG, adhE, ldhA, or an ortholog thereof, wherein the microorganism exhibits stable growth-coupled production of succinate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 8, 2006
    Publication date: May 17, 2007
    Inventors: Anthony Burgard, Stephen Van Dien
  • Publication number: 20060154344
    Abstract: A bacterium belonging to the genus Escherichia which has an ability to produce L-lysine or L-threonine and which is modified so that a malic enzyme does not function normally in a cell, and a method for producing L-lysine or L-threonine, comprising culturing the bacterium in a medium to produce and cause accumulation of L-lysine or L-threonine, and collecting the L-lysine or L-threonine from the medium.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 3, 2006
    Publication date: July 13, 2006
    Inventors: Stephen Van Dien, Shintaro Iwatani, Yoshihiro Usuda, Kazuhiko Matsui, Yuta Nakai, Tomoko Suzuki, Mika Moriya, Yuichiro Tsuji, Takuji Ueda
  • Publication number: 20060105322
    Abstract: A method for analyzing an intracellular metabolic flux comprising determining the intracellular metabolic flux from analytical values of cells cultured in a medium containing an isotope-labeled substrate as a carbon source on the basis of an intracellular metabolic flux model constructed for the intracellular metabolic flux to be analyzed, wherein (a) influence of an exchange reaction between an intracellular metabolite and a cell component produced by integration of the intracellular metabolite is considered, (b) uptake of a compound in a medium into cells, which compound is identical to an intracellular metabolite and unlabeled with an isotope, is considered, or (c) carbon dioxide used in a fixation reaction is assumed as carbon dioxide produced in a production reaction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 28, 2005
    Publication date: May 18, 2006
    Inventors: Shintaro Iwatani, Stephen Van Dien, Yoshihiro Usuda, Kazuhiko Matsui
  • Publication number: 20050221278
    Abstract: A method for determining metabolic flux distribution of a cell, which comprises the steps of: 1) creating a stoichiometric matrix based on formulas of biochemical reactions from a substrate to a product, 2) computing a set of vectors of solutions existing in a solution space which the stoichiometric matrix may have, 3) selecting, from the computed set of vectors of solutions, maximum vectors whose vector elements corresponding to respective substances for which input values can be obtained are maximum, and 4) performing linear combination for the selected vectors in accordance with the following equations to obtain a vector representing metabolic flux distribution: S flux = ? i = 1 n ? a i · p i · S ? ( i ) + ? i = 1 n ? b i · q i · A ? ( i ) ( I ) ? i = 1 n ? a i + ? i = 1 n ? b i = 1 ( II ) Sflux: Vector representing metabolic flux distribution to be determined, S(i): Vector selected for substance for which inputted value can
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 1, 2005
    Publication date: October 6, 2005
    Inventors: Shintaro Iwatani, Stephen Van Dien, Yoshihiro Usuda, Kazuhiko Matsui