Mati Therapeutics Expands Intellectual Property Portfolio with 114 Patents Issued

Mati Therapeutics Inc. announced that its international patent portfolio has grown to 114 issued patents, including recently granted U.S. Patent No. 9,849,082, titled “Nasolacrimal Drainage System Implants for Drug Therapy.” This patent, which will not expire until 2027, relates to a drug delivery system for administering an ophthalmic drug through a hydrogel lacrimal implant into one or both puncta (tear ducts) of the eye. With the issuance of this patent, Mati is now the only company with exclusive rights to commercially make, use, import or sell this proprietary hydrogel ophthalmic drug delivery system in the United States.
 
This newly issued patent further enhances Mati’s patent portfolio, which includes 19 different patent families and scores of patents and patent applications filed in the United States and other major international markets. The portfolio protects important elements of Mati’s Evolute punctal plug delivery system for treatment of ocular indications. The Evolute platform includes features for retaining the punctal plug within the nasolacrimal system of the eye during drug elution and sustained release formulations currently in development for the treatment of post-operative pain and inflammation. The proprietary technology has the potential to be used for multiple disease states with consistent, sustained efficacy.
 
“The continued expansion of our broad intellectual property portfolio covering the non-invasive drug delivery field for ocular use is a strategic asset for a small private company such as Mati. Our platform technology is under development for a number of indications including post-operative inflammation and pain, glaucoma and ocular hypertension, ocular allergy, and dry eye,” said Bob Butchofsky, CEO of Mati. “Since its inception, Mati has focused on innovation that will lead to better care for patients and safe, targeted treatment options for physicians. The company continues to build a significant intellectual property portfolio for our Evolute platform covering the U.S., Europe, Canada, Japan, and China. We believe our patent portfolio provides Mati with a competitive advantage in an area of growing importance in ophthalmology that will remain in place for many years to come.”
 
Mati is developing the Evolute sustained ocular drug delivery platform, which Mati believes has the potential to treat a range of ocular indications. The platform utilizes a device called a punctal plug, which is easily inserted into a patient’s punctum. The device has already been approved to treat dry eye syndrome, but Mati is the first to conduct clinical trials in the United States using punctal plugs as an anchoring device for a drug delivery platform. A drug-eluting core is inserted into Mati’s proprietary punctal plug, which allows medication to be continuously released into the tear film of the eye over a period of time. Mati believes the Evolute platform has the potential to become a more reliable alternative to several eye drop therapies, which can be ineffective because many patients are unwilling or unable to adhere to self-administered eye-drop regimens. This expanding IP portfolio continues to enhance better patient care and more options for the physicians who treat them.
 
Mati has completed multiple Phase II clinical trials using the Evolute platform and recently announced interim results from a Phase II study of nepafenac versus placebo in patients undergoing cataract surgery. Pain scores favored nepafenac over placebo at Day One, Day Three, and Day Seven, following surgery. At Day Three, 71 percent of patients treated with nepafenac experienced no pain versus 12 percent in the placebo arm. The company expects to initiate a Phase III study with nepafenac in 2019.