Minimus Spine Awarded U.S. Patent

Minimus Spine received a key patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Patent No. 8,961,471 covers aspects of the company’s Triojection syringe cartridge that maintain sterility of the syringe while the device is being processed within the Triojection console. According to the company, itsTriojection is the only system in the world with the ability to produce and measure ozone in a sterile syringe. The system is CE marked in Europe and first cases were performed last year. The treatment is not available in the United States.

According to figures cited by the company, each year in the United States there are approximately 1 million patients that try steroid injections to relieve the pain associated with a disc herniation in the lower back. Minimus Spine believes that it can benefit these patients with a single injection and reduce the number of patients that ultimately need surgery.

Ozone has been used outside the United States to treat disc herniations for more than 15 years. Minimus Spine’s system creates ozone and measures its concentration within in a patented, sterile, single-use syringe cartridge. According to the company, Triojection has advantages in terms of sterility and confidence in the concentration of gas delivered to the patient, as well as material compatibility.

“Triojection is an extremely differentiated product in the fast growing interventional spine market. This patent further strengthens our portfolio of intellectual property, which will be important as others and are drawn into this space. The subject matter included in this patent issued in Europe and Australia last year and we are pleased to be granted similar protection in the United States,” said David Hooper, Ph.D., Minimus Spine’s president and CEO. “Feedback on our initial patients treated last year has been extremely positive and we are steadily progressing on our European post-market study. That study will randomize patients to Triojection or surgical discectomy and compare the outcomes and costs associated with each procedure. This effort continues to be our primary focus and enrollment is expected to commence in the second quarter.”

Established in 2006, Minimus Spine is a privately held medical device company that develops ozone technology for medical applications. The firm currently is focused on the treatment of spinal disorders related to herniated discs.

The company is headquartered in Austin, Texas.