Keratec awarded US patent

Keratec awarded US patent

CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND, February 16, 2007: Keratec Limited announced today that it has been awarded a patent by the US Patent Office covering the manufacturing process underlying its Functional Keratin™ range of personal care and medical products and technologies.

Keratin is a naturally occurring protein that plays an important role in biological systems and is a fundamental component in the body’s processes for promoting new cell growth and healing after injury.

Where rival processes for extracting keratin result in the protein losing its natural functionality, Keratec’s Functional Keratin™ technology uniquely uses a series of proprietary extraction methods that deliver keratin proteins in commercial volumes. Delivering the protein in a soluble form, the process leaves its natural building-block functionality intact.

Keratec, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Wool Equities Limited, extracts keratin from wool in its New Zealand laboratories. Together with its US-based partner, Keraplast Technologies Limited, the company owns worldwide rights to using keratin in medical applications, and is the leader in developing and manufacturing a range of new keratin-based biomedical, industrial and consumer products.

The latest United States patent (number 7,148,327) awarded covers the company’s Functional Keratin™ range of biologic material manufacturing technology.

Keratec’s CEO Bruce Foulds said that this patent group is of significant value to Keratec as it protects the keratin-extraction step across many of the company’s products and technologies.

“Having our manufacturing processes fully protected is an important part of advancing closer to market with several ranges of Functional Keratin™ products and technologies in the United States,” he said.

Patents in the manufacturing patent group have previously been issued in several territories including New Zealand and South Africa.

The technology covered in the patent for extracting keratin was invented and developed by a team led by Chief Scientific Officer Dr Rob Kelly, Keratec’s founding scientist.

The biologic material manufacturing patent group is one of seven patent groups currently being pursued by Keratec. The more significant groups include wound care technologies and orthopaedic technologies.

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