Progenity buys assets of ingestible device company Medimetrics

US biotech company Progenity has acquired patented assets of Medimetrics, a Dutch ingestible device company, for an undisclosed price.

The acquired portfolio for ingestible device technologies includes 137 granted patents to go along with 15 pending applications in the US, Europe, Japan, and China.

The Medimetrics assets will further consolidate Progenity’s intellectual property portfolio. Furthermore, the acquired portfolio is expected to place the biotech company in a leading position for developing ingestible devices, especially for the treatment for conditions of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.

Harry Stylli – CEO and co-founder of Progenity said: “With the acquisition of Medimetrics’ assets, Progenity now holds one of the most robust ingestible device patent estates. The synergy of Medimetrics’ technology with our own should allow us to greatly advance development and commercialization of our pipeline of ingestible technologies and therapeutics. Our aim is to improve understanding, diagnosis, and treatment of gastrointestinal diseases, ultimately enabling precision medicine.”

Progenity’s portfolio now includes a wide range of technological advances like autonomous self-localization, targeted therapeutic delivery to the GI tract for topical and systemic applications, and sample collection and preservation from pre-selected GI locations.

Jeff Shimizu – director of device development at Progenity and Medimetrics former chief technology officer said: “Medimetrics’ expertise in device development and system engineering set the stage for ingestible drug delivery and sampling, even garnering CE marks for several products for clinical and commercial use. We are continuing to demonstrate the potential of ingestible technologies to improve the overall standard of care for gastrointestinal health.”

According to Progenity, its ingestible technologies can help diagnose and treat GI tract disorders like small intestinal bacterial overgrowth (SIBO) and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) by offering clinicians a noninvasive option.