Spring brings with it good news! Ziptek LLC, a Florida Limited Liability Company has been allowed a Design Patent on its ZipE(R) screw which works in conjunction with ZipE(R) suture capture, also called a ZipE- say the “e” aloud………a knotless tissue repair and attachment device solutions.

This represent the only screw which can be placed into bone without a suture in its eyelet and following have a suture relayed through using a suture relay.

A design patent is different than a utility patent which we also have filed on the screw and is pending.

This is the third patent issued in the last 9 months.

We have a method patent- which means the WIPO search deemed that our method of using a driver and pushing down a suture capture is patentable globally. This is a significant milestone and in essence- should a competitor find away around the suture capture design……(Side note- we have a work around of our original engineering……already patented! Which is also pending in europe and mexico.) They will run into a method patent which prevents anyone from using a driver to push down a suture capture over a suture with protuberances!!!!!

We have filed a provisional patent for work arounds to this method as well.

Presently we have two patents pending in europe, two in mexico, one in columbia, two in the united states with a US divisional patent filed which keeps other original material from within an earlier issued patent alive.

Within the next month we will be filing the method patent to europe, mexico, canada….pausing to see how our biocompatibility testing is coming along….then filing to japan and austlia….pausing…then possibly china, japan and brazil.

Ziptek’s founder William F Bennett MD has hired a toxicologist and we have finally identified which tests we will perform- some required-others prudent – that will present to competitors and the public that we are quality oriented and safety minded. Ziptek will spend nearly 75,000 dollars and upon completion should avoid the need or request from the FDA to perform more testing.

Ongoing at our biomechanics lab at Ziptek Mexico Sa De Cv, we have finished testing our screws and plugs. We are getting ready to do a bath testing degradation study for the absorbable material which will run 6 weeks. Our captures will be being tested next.
Btw, our titanium screw that john has machined and Ziptek has designed holds over 400 newtons in 20pcf sawbone!!!!! Very significant.

Following, we will be sending jorge, the molds and our injection molding machine to charlotte north carolina to being injection molding in a clean room, immediately product will be assemble and sent for sterilization validation and some for biocompatibility testing.

Following packaging and sterilization the product will be sent back to Ziptek Mexico Sa De Cv and more biomechanical testing will be performed.

Ziptek Mexico Sa De Cv has applied federal Mexican grant money (six figures) in US dollars and expects to know the results by this summer.