Invisicare is the core technology in Skinvisible's portfolio of products which consists of 36 formulated topical products including prescription, over-the-counter and cosmetic formulations.
"Being granted the Invisicare patent in Canada fortifies Skinvisible's global intellectual property portfolio," said Terry Howlett, CEO of Skinvisible.
"It is a key strategic priority for Skinvisible to obtain patent coverage for our Invisicare technology as well as the unique product benefits that we discover during our research and development process."
The Las Vegas-based firm states the technology enhances delivery systems for topically applied skin care products such as water insoluble actives as well as certain cationic actives. The enhancement is derived by controlling the release of the actives, while also binding the products to the skin for an extended duration.
Protection in three key areas
The Canadian patent for Invisicare includes a total of 48 claims, protecting it in three key areas: Topical Composition, Topical Composition Precursor, and Methods for Manufacturing and Using.
"For Skinvisible, our patents are intrinsic to the overall value of our products we offer for licensing,” added Howlett.
Overall Skinvisible has 28 patents pending including 12 in the US and 16 international applications covering six patents.
This latest patent in Canada is the seventh comprehensive patent granted to Skinvisible internationally, and is equivalent to the patents already granted in Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan and Korea for Invisicare.
Skinvisible also holds four United States patents which include one product patent and three patents relating to Invisicare.
Key investment in patent protection
"Patent protection represents a key investment for Skinvisible as it provides our products with long-term market exclusivity," said Howlett after being granted the Hong Kong patent last year.
"Patents strengthen our ability to license our unique product formulations worldwide, as evidenced by our recent agreements in Europe, China and the United States. We are aggressively pursuing additional licensing opportunities for formulations developed with the Invisicare technology," he explained.