MIV Therapeutics expands intellectual property portfolio with new technologies for next-generation biocompatible medical device coatings

Citation

(2005), "MIV Therapeutics expands intellectual property portfolio with new technologies for next-generation biocompatible medical device coatings", Anti-Corrosion Methods and Materials, Vol. 52 No. 5. https://doi.org/10.1108/acmm.2005.12852ead.002

MIV Therapeutics expands intellectual property portfolio with new technologies for next-generation biocompatible medical device coatings

MIV Therapeutics expands intellectual property portfolio with new technologies for next-generation biocompatible medical device coatings

Keywords: Coatings technology

MIV Therapeutics, Inc. (OTCBB:MIVT), 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, PhD, 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.”