American Scientific Resources acquires Safeguard Medical's home needle destruction device patent

Sep 15 2009

American Scientific Resources, Inc. (Pink Sheets: ASFX) (the Company), is excited to announce that it has acquired the intellectual property to the world's only FDA approved home needle destruction device (NDD), the Disintegrator(TM) and Disintegrator Plus(TM) (U.S. Patent No. 6,384,362 Patent Application No.: 09/500,504) (the "Device Technology").

A formerly owned property of Safeguard Medical Technologies, American Scientific Resources now holds the rights to the patent, which includes the Device Technology Patent and all present and future developed information, knowledge, experience and results.

As part of the agreement, all current contracts and future sales and contracts pertaining to the Device Technology are the sole property of ASR. Rights to such sales are worldwide with the exception of a single licensing agreement covering the European Union region where Safeguard pays a consulting royalty on sales.

Safeguard will receive stock, warrants, a convertible note and cash payments based on sales performance. They will also provide ongoing production engineering and quality control services to ASR for a fee.

ASR's plan is to introduce the product commercially in the fall/winter of 2009. The Disintegrator enables patients who give themselves injections, including those suffering from multiple sclerosis or diabetes, to properly and safely dispose of needles at home. The EPA and the American Diabetes Association approve the device.

Dr. Christopher F. Tirotta, CEO of American Scientific Resources, states, "We are overjoyed to have acquired the property rights to a product that we think has enormous potential to be a worldwide leader in home needle destruction. The product has already received a warm reception in the market."

Safeguard delivered a purchase order for 5000 units to one of the world's leading healthcare enterprises in March of 2009; since then, the global enterprise has placed an additional order for 2000 units which American Scientific Resources will fill. Safeguard practices a form of just-in-time productivity, matching production to its needs based on order size. Production is planned to ramp up by year's end with full production capability exceeding 25,000 units per month.

California State Senator Joe Simitian announced recently that his bill, SB 486, is headed to the Governor for review. The bill is designed to facilitate the safe disposal of syringes and needles (also known as "sharps") by requiring pharmaceutical manufacturers who sell specialty drug medications for home use to provide information on their websites on safe needle collection and disposal programs for their drugs. Over one million Californians who use specialty injection drugs don't have a safe, legal way to dispose of their sharps. Hence, approximately 386-million sharps are generated each year in California that need to be disposed of.

"Given the need in the US for a safe way to dispose of sharps, we are hopeful that the Disintegrator will eventually become a trusted household name," continues Dr. Tirotta.

Additionally, a congressional bill (S, 1312) is pending which would amend Title XVIII of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage, as supplies associated with the injection of insulin, of containment, removal, decontamination, and disposal of home-generated needles, syringes, and other sharps through a sharps decontamination/destruction device or similar program under part D of the Medicare program.

Source: http://www.americansci.com