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MIV Therapeutics Expands Intellectual Property Portfolio with New Technologies for Next-Generation Biocompatible
21 May 2005
MIV Therapeutics, Inc. (OTCBB:MIVT - News), a developer of next-generation biocompatible stent coatings and drug delivery technologies, announced that it has exercised the Option provided in the Collaborative Research Agreement with The University of British Columbia (UBC) to license two new technologies for advanced biocompatible coatings for cardiovascular stents and other medical devices. The newly licensed technologies intensify and broaden MIVT's research and development initiatives into the creation of unique and improved solutions for biocompatible and drug-eluting coatings in the multi-billion-dollar stent and medical device industries.
The technologies licensed from UBC involve enhanced applications of MIVT's proprietary Hydroxyapatite (HAp) coating. HAp is a ceramic material that has demonstrated excellent biocompatibility when used to coat medical devices, such as stents, that are implanted in the human body.
The new license will grant MIVT exclusive rights to advanced methods developed under the Collaborative Research Agreement for processing and applying HAp to implantable medical devices. Patent applications have been filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. One patent, entitled, "Calcium Phosphate Coatings for Coronary Stents by Electrochemical Deposition," discloses a new process for electrochemical deposition of HAp coatings on medical devices, including special preparation of metallic surfaces to ensure a high level of adhesion to the substrate. The patent applications describe further improvement of the functional properties of the coatings, including impregnation with polymers to result in Bio-Polymer/BioCeramic Matrix Composite Coatings, and deposition of drugs for local drug delivery purposes.
Another patent, entitled, "Calcium Phosphate Coatings for Coronary Stents by Electrophoretic Deposition," describes an alternative method of establishing uniform microporous HAp coatings on cardiovascular stents, through an electrophoretic deposition (EPD). The unique preparation of the coating precursor and the substrate prior to EPD enables optimal coating thickness, uniform coverage, and optimal adhesion of the biocompatible and biodegradable layer of HAp to the coated medical device.
"The acquisition of worldwide and exclusive licensing rights for these novel coating technologies marks another step towards the strategic expansion of MIVT's portfolio of intellectual property, and our exploration of the unique properties and exceptional biocompatibility of Hydroxyapatite," said Alan Lindsay, CEO of MIVT. "These new and advanced technologies add desirable performance characteristics and expand the technical capabilities of our coatings. This supports our objective to introduce our multiplatform coating technologies beyond stents to a variety of implantable medical devices, including hip implants and other orthopedic devices."
"We are very pleased that as a result of exercising the licensing option, the collaborative research and development between the University of British Columbia and MIVT will reach a new level of intensified research," said Arc Rajtar, Vice President of Operations, who coordinates technical cooperation between UBC and MIVT. "The technology transfer from UBC to MIVT, and the development of coatings which will respond to the specific requirements of other medical devices, will commence immediately, and is expected to be completed in the forthcoming weeks. Addition of these new coating technologies to our existing portfolio of intellectual property positions MIVT firmly towards expansion of potential use of our proprietary line of technologies beyond cardiovascular stents. From their early concept stages, the HAp coating technologies were developed as a multiplatform solution. The combination of HAp's unique biological properties with its expected ability to provide long-term, highly controlled release of drugs, should offer a significant advantage over other device coating technologies."
The patents were co-authored by Dr. Tom Troczynski, Ph.D., MIVT Vice President of Coatings and Professor of Ceramics at the University of British Columbia, who leads the research team and pioneered development of HAp for application on cardiovascular stents. "The close research ties between our UBC laboratories and MIVT resulted in an unprecedented motivation of our research team to deliver original, new solutions that address the needs defined by medical practitioners and the industry," said Dr. Troczynski. "The collaborative R&D between MIVT and UBC is a model example of university-industry interaction, and was recognized as such through the Government grants allocated on two separate occasions to support our research in this fascinating field."
About MIV Therapeutics
MIV Therapeutics is developing a next generation line of advanced biocompatible coatings for passive and drug-eluting application on cardiovascular stents and other implantable medical devices. MIVT's ultra-thin coating formulation is designed primarily to protect surrounding tissue from the chemical interaction of metal stents. MIVT's ultra-thin coating has been derived from a unique biocompatible material called hydroxyapatite (HAp) that during in-vivo animal trials demonstrated excellent safety and superior healing properties pursued by the science in the field of advanced implantable drug delivery systems. Hydroxyapatite is a bioactive porous material that makes up the bone mineral and matrix of teeth. It is widely used as a bone substitute material and for coating implantable fixation devices in orthopedic, dental and other applications. MIVT's novel drug eluting technology provides an alternative solution to polymer-based drug eluting coatings currently in the stent market. A broader spectrum of synthetic parameters allows MIVT's drug eluting coating easily and widely applicable to various implantable devices with a pre-designed drug release profile to meet desirable clinical performance. MIVT reached a Collaborative Research Agreement (CRA) with the University of British Columbia and supported a research and development grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) in 2002 to Dr. Tom Troczynski for the development of hydroxyapatite as a drug eluting coating. In December 2004 MIVT received a Government grant for the research program titled "Development of Novel Drug Eluting Composite Coatings for Cardiovascular Stents" under the National Research Council - Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP). Under this sponsorship the Company will progress to the development stage, which is expected to finalize the drug-eluting research and development program.
For more information, please visit http://www.trilogy-capital.com/tcp/mivt/website.html. To read or download MIV Therapeutics' Investor Fact Sheet, visit http://www.trilogy-capital.com/tcp/mivt/factsheet.html. To obtain daily and historical Company stock quote data, and recent Company news releases, visit http://www.trilogy-capital.com/tcp/html/mivt.htm.
Forward-Looking Statements
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this press release are forward-looking statements. Such statements are indicated by words or phrases such as "believe", "will", "breakthrough", "significant", "indicated", "feel", "revolutionary", "should", "ideal", "extremely" and "excited". These statements are made under "Safe Harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements and are subject to risks and uncertainties. See the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission including, without limitation, the Company's recent Form 10-K and Form 10-Qs, which identify specific factors that may cause actual results or events to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.
Copyright © 2005 MIV Therapeutics Inc. All rights reserved.
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Contact:
MIV Therapeutics Inc.
Investors:
Dan Savino, 800-221-5108 Ext.16
Fax: 604-301-9546
dsavino@mivi.ca
or
Product Inquiries and Business Opportunities:
Arc Rajtar, 604-301-9545 Ext.22
arajtar@mivi.ca
or
Trilogy Capital Partners
Investors:
Paul Karon, 800-342-1467
paul@trilogy-capital.com
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Source: MIV Therapeutics, Inc.
Source: Business Wire
All trademarks and copyrighted information contained herein are the property of their respective owners.
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