SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Silver Bullet Therapeutics, Inc., a privately-held medical device company, announced today that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office allowed two new patents that include, COATINGS FOR THE CONTROLLABLE RELEASE OF ANTIMICROBIAL METAL IONS and BONE IMPLANT AND SYSTEMS THAT CONTROLLABLY RELEASES SILVER. The Company also announced that they will make the OrthoFuzIon Antimicrobial Bone Screw System commercially available to select institutions beginning this Fall in Europe.
The Company confirmed that they will attend the European Bone and Joint Infection Society scheduled for September 8-12, 2015 in Lisbon, Portugal and the German Congress for Orthopedics and Trauma, October 18-24, 2015 in Berlin, Germany.
“We take a lot of pride in not only our medical solutions, but also the breadth of our growing IP portfolio,” stated Paul Chirico, President and CEO of Silver Bullet Therapeutics. “We have a unique approach to adding proven antimicrobial capabilities to new or existing medical devices and implants, one that does not require external power sources, does not use drugs or other pharmaceutical agents and is durable enough to withstand the abrasive forces of screwing into bone. With these latest allowances, our IP portfolio has expanded to protect the use of our antimicrobial technology on a broad range of medical devices and implants, including orthopedic screws, hip and knee prostheses, cardiac implantable defibrillators and pacemakers, implantable neurovascular stimulators, venous access indwelling catheters, sutures, staples, and surgical mesh, many of which we have already developed and tested.”
Statistics back up the need for antimicrobial medical devices. Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) caused from antimicrobial growth, or biofilm, on medical devices is estimated to cost the US healthcare system over $35 billion annually, with CDC figures suggesting that surgical site infections account for over 30% of all HAIs in hospitalized patients.
Recently, the Company received CE Mark approval for the commercial sale of its antimicrobial OrthoFuzIon Bone Screw System, indicated for orthopedic reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) procedures, in the European Union.
About Silver Bullet Therapeutics
Silver Bullet Therapeutics, Inc., a privately held company located in San Jose, CA, has developed and patented antimicrobial implants and medical devices to address surgical-site and hospital-acquired infections. The company’s first commercial product, the OrthoFuzIon Bone Screw System, utilizes an advanced silver ion technology that allows for rapid ionization of the silver and creation of an antimicrobial zone around the screw to prevent microbial colonization of the implanted devices. OrthoFuzIon is a Trademark of Silver Bullet Therapeutics, Inc. and is not yet approved for sale in the United States.