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M Pharmaceutical (CSE:MQ) announced that it has acquired the rights to, and intellectual property of, Trimtec Biomedical Inc., a private company in BC, Canada, which holds certain patented technology related to neural gastrointestinal stimulators. This acquisition brings Trimtec Biomedical to the M Pharmaceutical family of biomedical devices aimed at fighitng obesity and diabetes.
The Company has agreed to the issue of common shares from treasury in a number to be determined upon completion of due diligence and assume the obligations of the exclusive worldwide license agreement covering this technology that Trimtec holds with UTI Limited Partnership at the University of Calgary in Calgary, Alberta.
“With this acquisition, we now have a powerful technology suite designed to help treat obesity,” said Dr. Martin Mintchev, President & Chief Executive Officer of M Pharmaceutical Inc. “While we are working to develop all three of our medical devices, we are particularly excited about this acquisition since the design of the implantable neurostimulator prototype is completed and tested, and the technology is ready for chronic clinical trials on humans for regulatory purposes.”
Trimtec, which operates at arms-length to the Company, holds the exclusive worldwide rights to certain patented technology related to neural gastrointestinal stimulators developed by Dr. Mintchev, who is also a professor at the University of Calgary. Under the license, M Pharmaceutical is obligated to pay an initial fee of $50,000, repay patent costs of $156,937 over 20 months, a milestone payment of $10,000 and an ongoing royalty of 3% on sales.
“This acquisition provides the Company with a third strategic family of medical devices to add to our portfolio, diversifying our product mix and reducing market sector risk,” said Dr. Mintchev, noting the gastrointestinal neurostimulators join the eMosquito blood glucose monitor and pseudobezoars for non-invasive weight loss already held by M Pharmaceutical. “This exclusive, worldwide license on the technology of neural gastrointestinal electrical stimulation for laparoscopically implanted, minimally-invasive treatment of obesity completes the first phase of our intellectual property development portfolio in the area of obesity.”
The Trimtec method has been tested in several studies on experimental animals chronically implanted with the stimulator, demonstrating its effectiveness. In 2014, a parametrically similar stimulator (but for the gastric vagal nerve located in the proximal stomach) was approved by the FDA as a Class III medical device for the treatment of obesity.
“We’re excited about the addition of Trimtec and committed to further advancing all three of our biomedical technologies in 2015,” added Dr. Mintchev.
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