AMD Update 8: Breaking News -- Ellex Medical Sublicenses SRT Patent

Ellex Medical, the company behind the Ellex 2RT Retinal Regeneration Therapy for treating AMD, announced today that it had sublicensed Mark Latina’s SRT (selective retinal therapy) patent, to allow it to market its 2RT treatment in the United States.

This same patent by Dr. Latina, is the basis for his SLT (selective laser trabeculoplasty) and SRT therapies. The patent, Selective Laser Targeting of Pigmented Ocular Cells (U.S. Patent 5,549,596) was issued by the Patent Office on August 27, 1996 and assigned to Massachusetts General Hospital.

Under the terms of the agreement, Ellex has been granted non-exclusive rights to the retinal aspects of the SRT patent.

Lumenis also holds rights to this patent for the marketing of both its SLT and SRT lasers.

Previously, Ellex had been prevented from entering the US market with Ellex 2RT due to this patent; however, with the sublicense agreement now in place Ellex customers in the US will be able to use Ellex 2RT for the treatment of retinal disease.

The Intellectual Property (IP) pathway for Ellex 2RT is unencumbered outside of the US, and the Company has filed for four international patents related to the Ellex 2RT Program.

Ellex CEO, Mr. Simon Luscombe, said that the sublicense agreement was a major milestone, allowing the Company to proceed with a definitive plan to launch Ellex 2RT in the US market.

“The next phase of the Ellex 2RT Program will focus on undertaking further clinical trials, and on obtaining key regulatory approvals for the Ellex 2RT product range”, commented Mr. Luscombe.

For a comparison of the three selective tissue lasers marketed under this patent by Lumenis and Ellex, please see the following table:

Recommended Further Reading:

SLT

SLT: A New Treatment for Glaucoma Becomes Available

An Update on the Use of SLT for Treating Glaucoma


SRT



Ellex 2RT

Ellex 2RT Retina Regeneration Therapy: A First Report