Barnes & Thornburg Secures 11 Millionth U.S. Patent for Heart Valve Device

MINNEAPOLIS – Barnes & Thornburg is pleased to announce that Minneapolis partner and Intellectual Property Department member Jeff Stone secured the 11 millionth patent issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).   

The patent was issued for longtime client 4C Medical Technologies Inc.’s (“4C Medical”) invention, AltaValve^TM, a prosthetic mitral valve replacement technology, currently being evaluated in clinical research studies. The milestone patent was awarded on May 11, 2021, three years after the USPTO issued its 10 millionth patent. 

“I’m thrilled to have been a part of this significant milestone for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and 4C Medical,” said Jeff Stone. “4C Medical was built on the mission to further public health and create solutions that provide the best outcomes for patients, and the invention of the AltaValve^TM is intended to do just that. I look forward to 4C Medical’s continued development of the AltaValve^TM, as the company seeks to positively change the lives of patients suffering from mitral regurgitation.” 

This invention is a device that delivers, positions, and repositions the prosthetic heart valve (AltaValve^TM) in a patient's heart chamber to treat primary and secondary mitral regurgitation. The implantation of the device is completed using a catheter, a minimally invasive procedure designed to expand patient population to those who are at high risk for open-heart surgery. It is currently the only device that preserves the native mitral valve and has potential to treat patients with failed mitral valve repair.

“Jeff has been an integral member of our team since the inception of 4C Medical and has even appeared as an inventor on several of our patents,” said Saravana Kumar, 4C Medical’s interim president and CEO, and an innovator of the AltaValve^TM. “Jeff understands what it takes for early-stage medical device startups to progress, starting from patent protection of the core technology to crafting and building an overall patent portfolio strategy. We’re grateful for his contributions to our growth and this achievement.”  

With more than 700 attorneys and other legal professionals, Barnes & Thornburg is one of the largest law firms in the country. The firm serves clients worldwide from offices in Atlanta, California, Chicago, Delaware, Indiana, Michigan, Minneapolis, New York, Ohio, Raleigh, Salt Lake City, Texas and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit us online at www.btlaw.com or on Twitter @BTLawNews.