Press Release – March 22nd, 2017 – Santa Monica, CA, Pasadena, CA, Salt Lake City, Utah.–(PRBUZZ)— Leonhardt’s Launchpads, a Santa Monica, California and Salt Lake City, Utah based innovation accelerator focused on organ regeneration and recovery technologies announced today that it has significantly expanded its patent portfolio. Leonhardt’s Launchpads via this agreement obtained an option leading to an exclusive license to a series of patents and patents pending held by the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena, California in the field of wireless powered and minitature stent based circulatory assist pumps.
“The Caltech estate of patents combined with our own patent portfolio provides Leonhardt’s Launchpads, and our incubating startup Second Heart Assist, Inc., with a pathway to very strong patent protection in the wireless powered and stent based circulatory assist pump market. These patents serve as an important foundation for us as we continue to grow the business and develop our product pipeline” states Jeff Donofrio, President of Second Heart Assist, Inc.
The patent estate option exclusively licensed from Caltech includes these pioneering patents as well as many more other continuations in part and additional patent claims pending:
- U.S. 7,998,190 8/16/2011 Intravascular Miniature Stent Pump
- U.S. 7,163,385 1/16/2007 Hydroimpedance Pump
- U.S .8,092,365 1/10/2012 Resonant Multilayer Impedance Pump
- U.S .7,883,325 02/08/2011 Helically Actuated Positive-Displacement Pump and Method
Leonhardt’s Launchpads has in-turn exclusively licensed this option and patents in exchange for 9% seed stage equity and $50,000 cash (to be paid in increments) to Second Heart Assist, Inc. (Second Heart) a Utah C corporation incubating in Leonhardt’s Launchpads Utah, Inc. innovation and startup accelerator in Salt Lake City as well as its Santa Monica based accelerator. The Caltech exclusive option licensed patents cover technologies designed to develop a wireless powered circulatory assist pump placed within the aorta of a patient. The patent claims cover a product designed to reduce risk of hemolysis, thrombosis, mechanical breakdown and infection associated with previously developed circulatory assist devices as well as easing placement. Second Heart intends to apply this to the treatment of heart failure, reducing risk in high risk PCI, cardiogenic shock recovery, kidney protection and limb salvage. One of the primary expected uses of the product is to elminate excess fluid buildup from patients suffering of heart failure more quickly than other alternatives. The Second Heart team has aspirations to bring to market the first wireless powered circulatory assist pump that has the option for both continuous and pulsatile flow. The Leonhardt led team has developed a wirelesss harmonic vibration technology which it hopes to prove out in studies to reduce risk associated with thrombosis (blood clotting), often a problem with previous chronic long term use circulatory assist devices.
Second Heart Assist, Inc. also plans to develop this technology to be supportive to heart regeneration working in partnership with BioLeonhardt www.bioleonhardt.com another early stage Leonhardt’s Launchpads startup that has developed a bioelectric stimulator (controls release of up to 13 regeneration promoting proteins) + re-fillable micro infusion pump + fifteen component heart regeneration stem cell/growth factor composition designed to regenerate hearts. This technology is currently under evaluation in pre-clinical studies at the University of Utah. The thought of combining the two technologies is that a heart may be easier to regenerate if its workload is reduced by a circulatory assist device and perfusion is improved.
“The Caltech patents provide us with pioneering technologies to potentially reduce hemolysis, thrombosis, infection and mechanical breakdowns found in other circulatory assist pumps. This is an exciting development for our organization.” states Howard J. Leonhardt, Founder, Executive Chairman & CEO of Leonhardt’s Launchpads and Second Heart Assist, Inc.
This option license leading to an exclusive patent license includes a provision for collaborative research between the Leonhardt led Second Heart team and Dr. Morteza Gharib’s (primary inventor of the series of patents) lab at Caltech. This Caltech Gharib lab has already built and tested a number of prototypes and has published some supporting data. The two research teams will work together to advance the technology to clinic.
About Leonhardt’s Launchpads:
Leonhardt’s Launchpads is an innovation accelerator focused on organ regeneration and recovery technologies with operations in California and Utah. Leonhardt’s Launchpads was formed by Leonhardt Ventures in 2008 in Northern California, opened up in Southern California in 2013 and in Utah in 2015. They currently are incubating 30 startups. Leonhardt Ventures was founded in 1982 (originally HJ Leonhardt & Co.). In the 1980’s the Leonhardt team led in patented cardiovascular balloon catheter development, in 1990’s stent grafts and percutaneous heart valves, since 2000 the focus has been on organ regeneration and recovery. Howard Leonhardt their founder has over 21 issued U.S. patents and a dozen more pending.
About Second Heart Assist, Inc:
Second Heart Assist, Inc. was formed in 2016 and incorporated in Utah as a C corporation in 2017. It is focused on developing circulatory assist devices with the primary application of helping heart failure patients recover – http://leonhardtventures.com/second-heart/
Caution: This product has not yet been tested in clinical trials and is not yet proven to be safe or effective. This is an early stage unproven development.
Video animation of one model of circulatory assist pump within stent being developed by Second Heart Assist, Inc. team – https://vimeo.com/183574529
Leonhardt Stent Pump from Calx Stars Business Accelerator on Vimeo.
