Singapore, Mar 03, 2010: Australia's regenerative medicine company, Mesoblast said that the US Patent and Trademark Office has granted a key patent that provides exclusive commercial protection for its bone tissue generating products through to at least the year 2019 in the US, the world's largest market for regenerative medicines.

The company release noted that this new patent ensures that only Mesoblast can commercialize bone tissue generating products in the US using its adult stem cells termed Mesenchymal Precursor Cells (MPCs).

Mesoblast's potential applications for bone tissue generation continue to broaden, and include products for repair and healing of long bone fractures, spinal bony fusion of the cervical and lumbar inter-vertebral spaces, treatment of bone defects, and treatment and prevention of osteoporosis-related fractures such as fractures of the hip and vertebral bodies.

According to the company, its spinal bony fusion product NeoFuse, currently in the midst of phase II trials in the US, has the potential to become a major revenue driver for the company since over 500,000 lumbar and cervical spinal fusion procedures are currently performed annually in the US alone.

In addition, the company noted that it has applied for Australian regulatory approval for its fracture repair product and anticipates that a positive outcome will facilitate its US registration strategy for a bone repair product.