3-D Matrix Inc. Files Patent Infringement Complaint Against Menicon Co. Ltd. and B-Bridge International Inc.

WALTHAM, Mass., Jan. 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- 3-D Matrix Inc. (3-D Matrix) today announced that it has filed a patent infringement complaint on behalf of itself and patent owner Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) with the Federal District Court in Massachusetts against Menicon Co. Ltd. (Menicon) and B-Bridge International Inc. (B-Bridge). 3-D Matrix has also challenged the validity of a patent owned by Menicon.

The complaint alleges that Menicon's PanaceaGel™ infringes claims of two patents that relate to self-assembling peptides and methods: U.S. Patent No. 5,670,483, titled "Stable Macroscopic Membranes Formed by Self-Assembly of Amphiphilic Peptides and Uses Therefor," and U.S. Patent No. 5,955,343, titled "Stable Macroscopic Membranes Formed by Self-Assembly of Amphiphilic Peptides and Uses Therefor."  The district court complaint requests an injunction to prevent future infringement by Menicon and B-Bridge and monetary damages for the ongoing infringement.   

3-D Matrix has also filed a request for inter partes review of a Menicon patent with the United States Patent and Trademark Office based on Menicon's omission in recognizing MIT professor and 3-D Matrix founder Shuguang Zhang as an inventor of the self-assembling peptides and methods of use claimed in a Menicon patent that supports PanaceaGel.  The challenged patent is U.S. Patent No. 8,299,032. 3-D Matrix has filed a patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office to address the omission by Menicon.

"This patent infringement complaint serves as evidence that we will protect and enforce our intellectual property rights," said Jun Okada, Vice President 3-D Matrix, Ltd. "Our founder, Professor Zhang, is a pioneer in the self-assembling peptide field and his extensive work should be recognized and protected. We will continue to defend the patent portfolio of our self-assembling peptides to prevent unlawful competitive practices."

About 3-D Matrix Inc.

3-D Matrix Inc. is a leader in the development, marketing, and selling of self-assembling peptide products for use in surgical hemostasis, drug delivery, and tissue regeneration, as well as for life science research usage in conventional and 3-dimensional cell culturing, and other scientific fields.  3-D Matrix manufactures and sells PuraMatrix™, a self-assembling peptide product.  3-D Matrix, Inc.'s parent company 3-D Matrix, Ltd., Tokyo, Japan, is currently traded on the JASDAQ [7777.OS]. For more information, see http://www.puramatrix.com/

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SOURCE 3-D Matrix Inc.