Mercury Biomed Awarded Key New Patent

Mercury Biomed further augments strong patent portfolio with newly approved application for management of core body temperature

CLEVELAND, OH – Mercury Biomed announces that the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), after substantive examination, has issued its patent application entitled, “Altering Temperature in a Mammalian Body ” (U.S. Patent No. 9,549,844). The 844 patent, having a September 2009 priority date and exclusively licensed from the University of Texas at Austin, further expands Mercury’s substantial and growing domestic and international patent portfolio related to human temperature management.

Like other patents in Mercury’s extensive patent portfolio, the base claims of this patent cover devices and methods for maintaining and adjusting the core temperature of a mammal through the application of heat or cool to the glabrous skin regions.  The patent provides Mercury with the exclusive right to warm patients accessing only glabrous tissue without the need to manipulate other body areas, and without the need to provide additional body stimuli.

“The findings of the USPTO and the subsequent issuance of this patent are further confirmation that our Smart Temperature Management platform and approach are novel, unique and non-obvious in the field of human temperature management,” stated Ken Diller, Sc.D., Chief Science Officer of Mercury Biomed. “This patent expands the spectrum of applications for Mercury’s technology to situations where the subject’s special heat exchange blood vessels are in a vasodilated state (such as under a general anesthetic).”

By protecting Mercury’s ability to exclusively develop its proprietary warming technology, which significantly reduces the complexity and cumbersome nature of current intraoperative warming offerings, the 844 patent gives Mercury a significant commercial advantage.

“We are very excited to see the 844 patent issue,” says Brad Pulver, Chief Executive Officer of Mercury Biomed, “The continued strengthening of our patent portfolio, along with strong early clinical results, should help to solidify our technology’s future in the $2.5B perioperative clinical warming market.”

Mercury plans to seek protection of similar scope in valuable international jurisdictions and believes the issuance of the 844 patent will expedite such efforts.