ST. PAUL, Minn., Dec. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Gel-Del Technologies, a St. Paul, Minnesota based biomedical device company, has received approval from the Food and Drug Administration for clinical trials of CosmetaLife(TM), a dermal filler injection that company officials say holds potential to be a more effective alternative to currently available treatments for deep lines and wrinkles. Chief Operating Officer Phil Messina said, "We are confident that our CosmetaLife(TM) trials will be successful in comparison to Restylane."
The company began clinical trials of CosmetaLife(TM), a gel-particle product for injection to correct wrinkles, at four of six planned U.S. sites this fall and expects to conclude the trials in 2007. The company hopes to introduce the product to the rapidly growing $1 billion cosmetic augmentation market by the beginning of 2008.
David B. Masters, Ph.D., Gel-Del Technologies founder and President, is the inventor of the technology and its related products. According to Masters, "It is exciting to see the first human use of this technology. Based on our preclinical studies, it provides a longer lasting effect than other tissue fillers and it provides actual dermal correction."
The proprietary technology used to produce CosmetaLife(TM) is covered by 8 U.S. and 17 foreign patents. The material is also being developed for blood vessel grafts, cardiovascular stent coatings, cellular/bone scaffolds, fillers and drug delivery with other uses planned. "CosmetaLife(TM) is just the first in a line of many other important medical applications," said Masters. The company has already been awarded three National Institutes of Health grants to assist it in developing drug delivery devices and artificial blood vessel grafts, based on the same platform technology.
About Gel-Del Technologies
Gel-Del Technologies is a six-year-old biomedical device company that makes biomaterial products that mimic the body's tissue using revolutionary and patented protein-based fabrication techniques.
David Masters, Ph.D., is the Chief Technology Officer and President of Gel-Del and is the inventor of Gel-Del's technology. Dr. Masters is internationally recognized as an expert in biomaterials and local drug delivery. Over the past 16 years he has developed several medical products, including implantable medical devices for drug delivery, neurologic, vascular and dermal applications. Dr. Masters received his B.A. in Biochemistry and Biopsychology with Scholar Distinction, a Master's Degree in Chemistry, and a Ph.D. in 1992 in Behavioral and Neural Sciences at Rutgers University, including two awards for excellence in research. He then became a fellow and Instructor at Harvard Medical School Department of Anesthesiology, then Associate Consultant at The Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., and faculty at the University of Minnesota.
Gel-Del TechnologiesCONTACT: David Ewald for Gel-Del Technologies, +1-651-290-6276, Cell:+1-612-490-2650, davide@ewald.com
Web site: http://www.gel-del.com/
