MARIETTA, Ga., June 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ — MiMedx Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: MDXG), an integrated developer, manufacturer and marketer of patent protected regenerative biomaterials and bioimplants processed from human amniotic membrane, announced today its receipt of three newly issued patents related to tissue allografts derived from the placenta.
The U.S Patent Office has issued to MiMedx® U.S. Patent Number 8,409,626, “Placental Tissue Grafts” with a grant date of April 2, 2013. The U.S. Patent Office has also issued to MiMedx® U.S. Patent Number 8,460,715, “Placental Tissue Grafts” and U.S. Patent Number 8,460,716, “Method for Applying a Label to a Placental Tissue Graft”, both with a grant date of June 11, 2013. The new patents relate to the Company’s placental tissue allografts, including AmnioFix® and EpiFix® brand allografts.
Human amnion/chorion tissue is rich in cytokines and growth factors known to promote wound healing; however, preservation of the biological activities of therapeutic allografts during processing is challenging. The dehydrated human amnion/chorion membrane tissue allografts (“dHACM”) resulting from the MiMedx proprietary PURION® process have solved this challenge. PURION® processed dHACM retains biologically active growth factors and regulatory factors that are in part responsible for its clinical effectiveness in wound healing and other applications.
“We are pleased to have been granted three new patents during the second quarter of this year. These three newly issued patents now give us a total of eight dHACM-based U.S. patents that have been issued to MiMedx®,” said Parker H. “Pete” Petit, Chairman and CEO. “We are also pleased that our allografts from our proprietary AmnioFix® and EpiFix® technologies are continuing to gain excellent reception among the physician community and the private and public sector insurance carriers.”
“We are being extremely diligent about the protection of our AmnioFix® and EpiFix® intellectual property. At our direction, our patent counsel is currently reviewing certain issues that have come to our attention related to potential infringement from competing products on our intellectual property. We will use all of the legal remedies and means available to be certain that our intellectual property is respected,” added Petit.
Bill Taylor, President and COO, stated, “Our diligence in protecting our intellectual property is also evidenced by the fact that since the first of the year, we have filed more than 10 new applications for our amnion technology. Currently, we have in excess of 30 additional patent applications filed with the U.S. Patent Office relating to intellectual property of our AmnioFix® and EpiFix® technologies. We expect to be quite prolific in filing further patent applications related to our designs, methods and processes that preserve the critical anti-inflammatory, barrier, scar formation reduction and enhanced healing properties inherent in amniotic tissue.”
About the Company
MiMedx® is an integrated developer, manufacturer and marketer of patent protected regenerative biomaterial products and bioimplants processed from human amniotic membrane. “Innovations in Regenerative Biomaterials” is the framework behind our mission to give physicians products and tissues to help the body heal itself. Our biomaterial platform technologies include the device technologies HydroFix® and CollaFix™, and our tissue technologies, AmnioFix® and EpiFix®. Our tissue technologies are processed from human amniotic membrane that is derived from the donated placentas. Through our donor program, mothers delivering full-term Caesarean section births can elect in advance of delivery to donate the placenta in lieu of having it discarded as medical waste. We process the human amniotic membrane utilizing our proprietary PURION® process, to produce a safe, effective and minimally manipulated implant for homologous use. MiMedx® is the leading supplier of amniotic tissue, having supplied over 150,000 allografts to date to distributors and OEMs for application in the Wound Care, Surgical, Sports Medicine, Ophthalmic and Dental sectors of healthcare.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release includes statements that look forward in time or that express management’s beliefs, expectations or hopes. Such statements are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, the anticipated approval of pending and future patent applications related to placental tissue allografts utilizing the Company’s PURION® process for amniotic tissues, the Company’s future patent application filings and the protection of the Company’s intellectual property provided by any patents that issue. These statements are based on current information and belief, and are not guarantees of future performance. Among the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements include that pending and future patent applications related to placental tissue allografts utilizing the Company’s PURION® process for amniotic tissues may not result in issued patent, that the issuance of any patents may be delayed, that the allowed claims, if any, may not be in line with the Company’s expectations, that the Company may not be successful in enforcing its patents, and the risk factors detailed from time to time in the Company’s periodic Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including, without limitation, its 10-K filing for the fiscal year endedDecember 31, 2012. By making these forward-looking statements, the Company does not undertake to update them in any manner except as may be required by the Company’s disclosure obligations in filings it makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the federal securities laws.
SOURCE MiMedx Group, Inc.
Michael Senken, (770) 651-9100
