Mati Therapeutics Expands Intellectual Property Portfolio
Business Wire: October 26, 2016 – AUSTIN, TX, U.S.A. – Mati Therapeutics, Inc. (“Mati”) announced that it has been granted U.S. patent number 9,445,944 titled “Lacrimal Implants and Related Methods.” The patent, which expires in 2028, claims a method of providing a sustained drug release to an eye using a proprietary punctal plug design placed in the punctum (tear duct) over the treatment period. This new patent complements earlier issued U.S. patent claims directed to the proprietary punctal plug for noninvasive sustained delivery of topical drugs to the eye. This proprietary technology is used for multiple disease states with consistent, sustained efficacy.
This newly issued patent further enhances Mati’s patent portfolio, which includes more than 80 issued patents and numerous patent applications, to which Mati has exclusive rights in the United States and other major international markets. The patents cover 17 patent families, including important elements of the Evolute® punctal plug delivery system for treatment of ocular indications. The Evolute® platform includes features for retaining the punctal plug within the nasolacrimal system of the eye during drug elution and sustained release formulations currently in development for post-operative pain and inflammation.
“We continue to expand our international intellectual property portfolio consisting of 82 issued patents and 80 additional patent applications pending review,” said Bob Butchofsky, CEO of Mati. “Mati continues to focus on innovation with our sustained drug delivery platform with the addition of 42 newly issued patents since 2014, covering the United States, Europe, Canada, Japan, and China. This is a key strategic asset for our company and will help support the multiple products we intend to develop with this unique sustained drug delivery platform.”
Mati is developing the Evolute® sustained ocular drug delivery platform, which Mati believes has the potential to treat a range of ocular indications. The platform utilizes a device called a punctal plug, which is easily inserted into a patient’s punctum. The device has already been approved to treat dry eye syndrome, but Mati is the first to conduct clinical trials in the United States, using punctal plugs as an anchoring device for a drug delivery platform. A drug-eluting core is inserted into Mati’s proprietary punctal plug, which allows medication to be continuously released into the tear film of the eye over a period of time. Mati believes the Evolute® platform has the potential to become a more reliable alternative to several eye drop therapies, which can be ineffective because many patients are unwilling or unable to adhere to self-administered eye-drop regimens.
Mati has completed multiple phase II clinical trials using the Evolute® platform, including multiple trials in glaucoma, ocular hypertension, and allergy patients. Mati’s proprietary punctal plug design has demonstrated excellent lower punctum retention rates of up to 92% and 96% over a 12-week follow-up period in multiple multi-center U.S. clinical trials. To learn more about Mati Therapeutics, visit www.MatiTherapeutics.com.
