We have carried out a detailed patent search and identified the top 5 competing patents. the detailed patent survey was undertaken by our IP consultants Cresco Innovation Ltd.
Whilst initially this topic appeared to be a busy space in terms of patent filings, in fact there are groups of patent families and only a very small number of filings that are relevant to the ACEDAG patent.
The patent landscape is heavily dominated by 3M with four out of the top 5 most relevant patents either filed by or assigned to 3M or companies within their group. The other relevant patent (US5142010A) by Olstein is lapsed.
Our initial search, conducted through the European Patent Office, was based on the following key words:
• ‘ostomy’
• ‘disposable’
• ‘dissolve’
• ‘degradable’
• ‘water soluble’
• ‘anti-bacterial’
• ‘extruded film’
This search returned 65 results. However, many of these filings were part of patent families derived from the same invention, and we have therefore only listed each patent family once in our report. Many of the results concentrated on methods of drug delivery, or catheter function, and were unrelated to the ACEDAG invention. We also conducted a search by category and obtained 72 results, which broadly concurred with the key word search. The idea of dissolvable ostomy bags exists in the market and there have been filings related to this for over 20 years. We have included lapsed patents in our findings as these are relevant to prior art considerations. We have determined the top 9 nearest competing patents
We have carried out extensive market research and prepared a competitor analysis, technology analysis, risk review and created route to market strategy and financial forecasts. We have concluded ACEDAG’s BioStomy offers an innovative solution into a mature market. Market growth is ca. 5% per annum driven by an ageing population. We are not aware of any technological approaches which are disruptive to the market. Through careful alliances ACEDAG will be able to provide a product which will improve the quality of life for ostomates and represent a viable business proposition.
