MedicInvent, LLC is an Oklahoma limited liability company which patents, out-licenses and sells rights to its value-added surface treatment to any intravascular catheter device whereby a textured surface is incorporated with the catheter at the interface with the skin (the "Technology"). The Technology is designed fight catheter related blood infections.

The purpose of the Technology is to stimulate tissue growth at the juncture of the catheter and the cutaneous incision point thus increasing bacterium blockage and static friction or 'stiction' of the catheter. We believe this results in both decreased pathogen migration into the bloodstream via 'blockage' and reduces catheter dislodgement via 'anchoring'. Blockage prevents entry for microorganisms and thus disrupts a pathogenesis which would result in bacterium migrating into the bloodstream causing infection. Anchoring results from stimulated tissue growth adhering to the catheter at the entry site reducing catheter dislodgement and resulting infections.

The implementation of the Technology involves modifying the surface texture of the catheter and it does not significantly alter its diameter or makeup. The result is a low cost solution, not disruptive to current manufacturing processes or pathogenic interventions, which can reduce both medical and human costs and litigation stemming from catheter related blood infections, a multi-billion dollar global problem.

The following are key MedicInvent strategic drivers:

Market Size

• $15 billion U.S. catheter market in 2006 expected to grow to $23 billion by 2009 along with an aging global population. The global market size is estimated at twice these numbers.
  
  
• $5.5 billion currently spent in the U.S. in the coronary catheter segment alone, a primary target market for MedicInvent's Technology.
  
  
• Served by multi-billion dollar global pharmaceutical companies such as Abbot Labs, Astrazenica, Beckton Dickinson, Boston Scientific/Guidant, Johnson&Johnson, and Sanofi-Aventis.
  

Opportunity and a Convergence of Events

• The Technology is designed to become a global industry standard for preventing catheter related blood infections - the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S – a medical problem which costs an estimated $1.5 - $2.5 billion, and results in an estimated 40,000 - 90,000 deaths, annually in the U.S. – a higher morbidity rate than AIDS.
  
  
• Annually, there are an estimated 80,000 to 250,000 catheter related blood infections in the U.S. alone and treating catheter related blood infections costs an estimated $70,000 per event – and much more than that if the result is a wrongful death lawsuit.
  
  
• Effective October 2008, Medicare will no longer reimburse hospitals for the costs associated with the treatment of catheter related blood infections and they will not be allowed to pass along the costs of uncompensated treatment for catheter related blood infections to their Medicare patients. Medicare patients, many of which are cardio or cancer patients with weakened immune systems, are the most vulnerable to catheter related blood infections. The future for hospitals portends increased volumes of catheter related blood infections due to an aging U.S. population and absorption of ever growing costs for their treatment, a combination which if not addressed will have a material negative impact on every hospital’s bottom line.
  
  
• Following Medicare’s lead, WellPoint, the nation's largest health benefits company, has announced that it will no longer reimburse hospitals in its network for catheter related blood infections. Concurrently, a list of ‘never events’ has been compiled by the National Quality Forum, a coalition of physicians, employers and policy makers, which list includes catheter related blood infections. Aetna, the country's third-largest insurer by number of members, is beginning to stipulate in hospital contracts up for renewal that it will no longer pay nor let patients be billed for ‘never events’. United Health Group, Humana, Cigna Corp. and The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association have stated that they are looking at similar approaches.
  
  
• A significant increase in the occurrence of drug resistant ‘superbugs’ such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, is driving efforts to find methods to prevent their pathogenic migration into the bloodstream – which is exactly what the Technology is designed to accomplish.
  
  
• Throughout the U.S., states are passing laws requiring hospitals to report incidences of catheter related blood infections and newly implemented ‘report card’ systems on hospital prevention of catheter related blood infections are causing providers to be publicly measured against their peers.
  
  
• For all of the above reasons hospitals are increasingly demanding from their medical devices suppliers cost effective, simple to implement, medical solutions designed to prevent catheter related blood infections and manufacturers will not be competitive if they are not incorporating industry standard preventative designs, such as the Company’s Technology, into their products.
  

Market Demand

• The competition in the coronary catheter segment is intense and market participants need to continually adopt innovative strategies to capture market share and fight price erosion - adding value by providing better, safer products is the best way to increase market share and minimize price erosion.
  
  
• Global manufacturers of catheters are seeking strategies which can successfully intervene in the pathogenic migration of catheter related blood infections thus providing real benefits, in both human and economic terms, to patients, physicians and healthcare payors.
  
  
• Manufacturers of catheters are seeking innovations which can give them a competitive advantage and a differentiated product.
  
  
• With 50% of U.S. production for export the value proposition of partnering with U.S. based manufacturers is significant.
  
  
• By allowing each manufacturer to implement the Technology as they see fit, each licensee of the Technology can incorporate the Technology into their catheter design to match their own product, pricing and promotion strategy.

Technology

• The Technology is designed to become a global industry standard for preventing catheter related blood infections - the 10th leading cause of death in the U.S - a medical problem which costs $1.5 billion and results in 40,000+ deaths annually in the U.S. alone.
  
  
• The Technology is a unique solution which co-opts natural body responses to stimulate tissue growth at the critical junction point where the catheter meets the external layers of the dermis within the insertion incision - which according to the Centers for Disease Control is the key entry point for bacterium into the blood stream.
  
  
• Stimulated tissue growth creates a barrier to bacterium migration at the incision point, the leading cause of death inducing infections.
  
  
• Stimulated tissue growth increases the tensile strength of tissue anchored to the catheter and thereby its static friction or 'stiction' - increased stiction reduces incidences of catheter dislodgement a common incident which allows bacterium migration into the bloodstream.
  
  
• Barrier creation and anchoring via stimulated tissue growth is a medically acknowledged solution to fighting bacterium migration into the bloodstream as demonstrated by the Dacron Cuff.
  
  
• Texturing is a low cost solution which can readily be applied to existing catheter products and does not require expensive surgical implantation as is the case with the Dacron Cuff, making it easier and safer to use and less costly.
  
  
• The Technology is cooperative with other interventions which prevent bacterium migration into the bloodstream including surgical Tunneling, deployment of securement devices such as the Dacron Cuff, and the impregnating or coating of catheters with antibiotics, antimicrobial agents or antiseptics.
  
  
• The Company has been issued patents or has patents pending on the Technology in the majority of the industrialized world. The Company has vigorously defended and protected the claim scope of its patent applications and its patent claims have withstood rejections based on a very large body of prior art references. The Company's patents can be viewed with a high presumption of validity and the possibility has been significantly reduced that relevant prior art was overlooked during the prosecution.
  
  
• MedicInvent's clinical animal testing conducted in conjunction with Oklahoma State University has demonstrated the efficacy of the Technology.