Echo awarded method patent for Symphony transdermal continuous glucose monitoring system

Echo Therapeutics, Inc. (OTCBB: ECTE), a company developing the Symphony™ tCGM System as a non-invasive, wireless, transdermal continuous glucose monitoring (tCGM) system and the Prelude™ SkinPrep System for transdermal drug delivery, today announced that it received a notice of allowance for U.S. Patent Application No.11/275,038, "System and Method for Continuous Non-Invasive Glucose Monitoring," for the Symphony tCGM System.  

The patent, describing the method of use for the Symphony tCGM System in the hospital critical care setting, has been allowed in the United States and is expected to issue in the next few months.  The patent will expire in December 2025.

"Building on our positive fundamentals, we are excited to be issued this notice of allowance for a key component of our intellectual property portfolio," stated Patrick Mooney, M.D., Echo's Chairman and CEO.  "This patent is critical to our intellectual property strategy for protecting our leading position in non-invasive, tCGM markets worldwide.  Furthermore, we expect several additional patents to issue this year worldwide for both our Prelude SkinPrep System and our Symphony System as we build a solid foundation for future growth.  We expect these patents will add significantly to our shareholder value in both the near- and long-term."

The patent application describes the continuous monitoring of glucose in a critical care environment.   It describes a device that graphs a patient's glucose over time, provides for hypo- and hyperglycemic alarms, displays the glucose trend/rate of change, and allows set points for insulin delivery.  The application also describes a miniature transdermal glucose sensor, is affixed over an area of permeated skin, that transmits to the monitor. The Symphony tCGM System incorporates Echo's proprietary Prelude SkinPrep System, together with a noninvasive wireless biosensor and a wireless monitor or handheld device for needle-free, continuous monitoring of glucose levels.  

The addressable market for needle-free, continuous wireless glucose monitoring in the hospital critical care setting exceeds $1 billion annually and the global glucose monitoring market exceeds $12 billion annually.