MicroCHIPS Announces 35th U.S. Patent for Microreservoir-Based Drug Delivery Systems

WALTHAM, Mass., March 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- MicroCHIPS, Inc., a developer of innovative drug delivery devices and biosensors, today announced that the U.S. Patent Office and Trademark Office has granted U.S. Patent No. 7,892,221, Method of Controlled Drug Delivery from Implant Device. This patent in conjunction with U.S. Patent No. 7,070,590 provides broad coverage for the design and fabrication of reservoir-based medical devices used for implantable drug delivery systems.

MicroCHIPS' intellectual property originated as patent filings at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, by professors and MicroCHIPS cofounders Robert Langer and Michael Cima, and cofounder John Santini. These patents are licensed to MicroCHIPS, which has continued to develop and enhance the reservoir-based technology and to generate additional intellectual property covering microreservoirs, controlled release components and systems, and biosensors. As a result, MicroCHIPS' current patent portfolio includes more than 80 patents and more than 50 pending applications, covering the U.S., Canada, various countries in Europe and Asia, as well as Australia.

"The granting of this patent provides the fundamental building blocks for programmable medical drug delivery implants to address various diseases such as diabetes, osteoporosis, heart disease, and cancer," said Robert Langer, ScD, Institute Professor at the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT.

MicroCHIPS' miniaturized systems are adaptable to implants and catheters as well as on-body delivery systems, external pumps, pens and infusion systems. Currently, the MicroCHIPS technology is embodied in the company's medical implants that are part of a clinical trial to treat osteoporosis in women. The trial is evaluating the pharmacokinetics of precise delivery of human parathyroid hormone (hPTH 1-34) from a programmable, wireless implanted device.

"This patent and technology portfolio combined with the on-going MicroCHIPS clinical trial focused on delivery of human parathyroid hormone will demonstrate the viability of controlled release from programmable or pre-programmable devices," said Michael Cima, PhD, the Sumitomo Electric Industries Professor of Engineering at the David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT.

About MicroCHIPS

MicroCHIPS, Inc. is pioneering programmable implanted devices designed to improve the health of millions of people with critical conditions that require careful monitoring and therapy. MicroCHIPS' technologies enable the creation of in- and on-body devices that can sense vital biochemical changes, deliver potent drug therapies and communicate using wireless technologies. The technologies use microreservoir arrays to hermetically store and protect pharmaceuticals or sensors for extended periods of time. The reservoir arrays are compatible with microprocessors, wireless communications and sensor feedback loops to provide precise, dynamic control of delivery or sensing.

SOURCE MicroCHIPS, Inc.