ST. LOUIS, June 5, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ISTO Technologies, Inc., a leading orthobiologics company focused on developing breakthrough products to regenerate and restore function to damaged cartilage and bone, announced today that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has issued a fundamental patent for the technology on which the company's InQu® Bone Graft Extender & Substitute is based. U.S-patent No. 8,192,759, "Matrix Made of Polyester Polymers Entangled with Hyaluronic Polymers Useful for Supporting Tissue Repair", covers the unique biosynthetic structure of ISTO's product.
InQu is a platform technology for tissue regeneration and is used primarily as an osteobiologic product in spinal fusion applications and is manufactured and marketed in a variety of forms— granules, paste, putty and strip—to meet surgeons' needs for a variety of surgical applications. InQu is a unique molecular entanglement of hyaluronic acid and a synthetic polymer to create a three-dimensional scaffold with a cell-friendly environment for bone growth. Hyaluronic acid is a biological molecule with multiple functions not shared by other biomaterials, such as collagen-based products or mineral-based ceramics that have traditionally been used for bone regeneration. InQu has received 510(k) clearances as a bone graft extender and substitute, and since its launch in 2008, it has been used in over 17,000 orthopedic and spinal procedures to date.
"We are very pleased that the USPTO has validated the fundamental biosynthetic properties of our InQu platform technology. This U.S. patent further protects and solidifies our leadership position in leveraging the properties of hyaluronic acid for orthopedic biologic applications. We intend to further build on the 17,000 procedures to date to provide more patients and surgeons with our cost-effective, safe and efficacious product," said Mitchell Seyedin, Ph.D., President & CEO of ISTO Technologies.
Over 500,000 spinal fusion procedures are performed in the U.S. each year that require bone grafting material, creating a market for bone graft substitutes of over one billion dollars. Other key technologies developed and patented by ISTO include a Juvenile cartilage cell expansion technology for intervertebral disc and knee applications.
About ISTO
ISTO is a privately-held orthobiologics company dedicated to improving patient quality of life through the development of proprietary products for spinal therapies and sport medicine applications. ISTO's products are intended for the repair and regeneration of damaged or injured cartilage and bone. For additional information on ISTO, please visit our website at www.istotech.com.