Micell® Technologies, Inc., a privately-held, development-stage biomedical company, provided an update on its recently expanded intellectual property portfolio. With the granting of 24 patents in 2017, including eight that issued in the fourth quarter, Micell’s extensive intellectual property portfolio comprises 186 patents (166 issued and 20 allowed) protecting the company’s novel drug-eluting stent, its enabling technologies, and future biomedical and other applications.
Micell’s technology platform uses unique surface modification and polymer science to allow for precisely and consistently controlled drug elution. This technology made possible the successful development of Micell’s drug-eluting stent, the MiStent® Sirolimus Eluting Absorbable Polymer Coronary Stent System (MiStent). The device is designed to optimize clinical performance and healing compared to other currently available drug-eluting coronary stents.
“Patents issued throughout the past year represent external validation of Micell’s innovative approach to controlled drug delivery. Beyond MiStent, this platform technology potentially allows for diverse and broadly based biomedical applications that could address unmet clinical needs. To date, there are more than 8,410 claims issued, allowed and pending — associated with Micell’s patents, and additional patent applications currently are pending,” said Arthur J. Benvenuto, Micell’s Chairman and CEO.
About Micell’s Core Technology
Micell’s supercritical fluid technology is used in applying a polymer and drug coating to a substrate (e.g., a stent platform) while preserving the crystalline integrity of the drug during the coating process. Fusing the polymer — applied using supercritical fluid technology — and the dry crystalline form of the drug creates a smooth, uniform, well-adhered drug-delivery formulation on the substrate and could be an enabling core technology for broad medical device and biopharmaceutical applications. Early aspects of this solvent-free coating technology were developed in conjunction with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory managed by Battelle Memorial Institute.
