Patent Granted for Neurological Graft Made From A Tissue-Engineered Biomaterial

West Lafayette, Ind. - Cook Biotech Incorporated has a license to new technology covered by a recently issued U.S. patent. The U.S. Patents and Trademarks Office has granted a United States patent (No. 6,241,981) covering a medical graft made from tissue-engineered submucosa that is useful in promoting regrowth and repair of damaged or diseased neurological tissue structures.

“Small intestine submucosa is showing outstanding clinical results as surgical graft material used to repair and support many internal soft tissues,” stated Mark Bleyer, president and chief executive office of Cook Biotech, a COOK company. “This patent secures important protection for several neurological products in development, including a product that will be used to repair the dura mater (a tough, protective membrane that surrounds the brain and spinal cord).”

Michael C. Hiles, Ph.D., vice president of research for Cook Biotech, called the patent “an important advancement that represents yet another breakthrough for this technology that has the intriguing property of supporting tissue remodeling. In addition to a product for the dura, tissue-engineered neurological grafts used to guide nerve regeneration are a further important development opportunity covered by this patent.”

Small intestine submucosa (SIS) is animal-derived and carefully processed to produce a safe, sterile and biocompatible material. Cook Biotech uses a manufacturing process designed to maintain the integrity of the naturally occurring tissue. The process creates a matrix which acts as a scaffold for tissue growth and, over time, is replaced with the body’s own tissue.

With international headquarters in Bloomington, Ind., privately held COOK® (www.cookgroup.com/) is a leading designer, manufacturer and global distributor of minimally invasive medical device technology for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Since its founding in 1963, Cook has created innovative technologies for stents and stent-grafts, catheters, wire guides, introducer needles and sheaths, embolization coils, tissue-engineered medical biomaterials, vena cava filters, implanted cardiac lead extraction equipment and other minimally invasive medical devices.

News Media Contact:

David McCarty, 812-339-2235, ext. 2387; dmccarty@cook-inc.com
Director of Public Relations, Cook Incorporated

Madia Milks, 765-497-3355, ext. 28; milks@cookbiotech.com
Marketing Communications Coordinator, Cook Biotech Incorporated

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