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Quick-Med Receives Patent for Enhancing the Antimicrobial Performance of NIMBUS(R) Contact Lenses and Other Surfaces


Published on 2012-07-25 06:35:38 - Market Wire
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July 25, 2012 09:22 ET

Quick-Med Receives Patent for Enhancing the Antimicrobial Performance of NIMBUS® Contact Lenses and Other Surfaces

Eighth NIMBUS Patent Granted by U.S. Patent Office

GAINESVILLE, FL--(Marketwire - Jul 25, 2012) - Quick-Med Technologies, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: [ QMDT ]) (OTCQB: [ QMDT ]), a life sciences company that is developing innovative technologies for the healthcare and consumer markets, announced today that it has been awarded an eighth U.S. patent for its novel, non-leaching NIMBUS® antimicrobial technology.

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued Quick-Med Technologies U.S. Patent No. 8,227,017 titled, "System and Method for Enhancing the Efficacy of Antimicrobial Contact Lenses and Other Surfaces." The new patent covers the method of post-treating NIMBUS® contact lens and other NIMBUS surfaces to enhance antimicrobial efficacy and increase biofilm resistance. By introducing a citrate solution to a surface to which a NIMBUS polymer has been non-leachably bound, the bactericidal performance is improved significantly. For example, a surface treated to achieve a 99% efficacy vs. the highly virulent Pseudomonas aeruginosa would be elevated to a level above 99.99%. This significantly enhanced performance is sustained even after rinsing the lenses or other NIMBUS surfaces.

"We found that citrate solution, commonly used as an antioxidant for foods, serves as an amplifier to the effective action of the quaternary ammonium polymer in NIMBUS-treated surfaces," said Susan Leander, senior scientist at Quick-Med and lead inventor on this patent. "The resulting boost in sustained antimicrobial performance can be important in a wide range of product applications."

This enhancement is particularly useful in achieving antimicrobial protection in delicate materials such as soft contact lenses with gel-like physical properties and a high percentage of water content and where requirements for clarity and material integrity limit the amount of antimicrobial agent that can be employed. 

"The contact lens is one of many new product opportunities made possible by the application of this novel technology," said Dr. Jerry Olderman, Quick-Med's vice president of Research & Development. "It expands Quick-Med's NIMBUS technology horizon to include products that significantly delay or prevent biofilm formation during the product's life cycle including in-dwelling catheters as well as respiratory, urinary and blood transmission devices."

About NIMBUS
Quick-Med's patented technology, NIMBUS, is a cutting-edge antimicrobial technology that has been custom designed for wound care and other medical applications. NIMBUS received De Novo FDA clearance in 2009 and has been commercialized in traditional wound care applications. It is the only non-leaching antimicrobial dressing which, by design, poses no risk of bacteria developing resistance. NIMBUS technology is protected by twelve U.S. patents and patents pending and 24 foreign counterparts. Additional applications under development include advanced wound dressings, medical adhesives, catheters, and contact lenses.

About Quick-Med Technologies, Inc.
Quick-Med Technologies, Inc. is a life sciences company that is developing proprietary, broad-based technologies for infection prevention and control in the consumer and healthcare markets. In addition to NIMBUS, Quick-Med's Stay Fresh® technology provides highly durable antimicrobial protection for laundered apparel and other textile applications and its NimbuDerm™ technology is being developed as a long-lasting hand sanitizer. For more information, see: [ www.quickmedtech.com ].

© 2012 Quick-Med Technologies, Inc. All rights reserved. NIMBUS® and Stay Fresh® are registered trademarks and NimbuDerm™ is a trademark of Quick-Med Technologies, Inc.

Forward-looking statements (statements which are not historical facts) in this release are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For this purpose, any statements contained in this release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, words such as "may", "will", "to", "expect", "plan", "believe", "anticipate", "intend", "could", "would", "estimate", and/or "continue" or the negative or other variations thereof or comparable terminology are intended to identify forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including those risks that are discussed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), which may be accessed at the SEC's Edgar System at [ www.sec.gov ].


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