AngioScore Inc. is petitioning the Food and Drug Administration to refuse competitor Abbott Laboratories the extension of its patent covering so-called “rapid exchange” angioplasty catheters.

The patent covers technology that allows physicians to more easily-thread a catheter into a blood vessel during angioplasty, the medical procedure used to unblock veins and arteries in the event of a heart attack.

Abbott, based in Illinois, has held the patent since September 1995, and it is set to expire Oct. 29, 2008, according to the citizen’s petition filed by AngioScore.

Angioscore, a Fremont medical device maker founded five years ago with Israeli venture capital funding, completed a $30 million round of Series E financing led by Telegraph Hill Partners last October.

"We believe that we are entitled to the patent extension in accordance with US patent law based on the regulatory review period associated with (the company's drug-coated stent product) Xience V," said Abbott spokeswoman Adelle Infante.

SOURCE: East Bay Business Times