NORCROSS, Ga. , Aug. 29—SurgiLance Pte Ltd, the parent company of SurgiLance, Inc., has been awarded a patent for its innovative One-Step Safety Lancet by the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office.

"We are delighted that the patent office has moved this fast," said SurgiLance Inc. CEO Hugh Cooper, "When we received the notice of allowance earlier this summer, we were told to expect the formal patent award sometime this fall."

The patent (US 6,432,120 B1) provides SurgiLance protection for the design of its safety lancet for 20 years from the date on which an earliest priority application was filed. In addition to the United States, the company has also applied for patents in Europe, Asia and Japan.

"There is growing market demand for our innovative One-Step Safety Lancet," said Cooper. "It is perfectly positioned to meet the needs of both medical product distributors and clinical end-users who want to sell and use a product that meets the requirements of the Needlestick Safety and Prevention Act legislation."

The One-Step Safety Lancet was introduced to the U.S. medical product market in September 2000 after approximately 18 months of medical device research and product development in Singapore.

Cooper said SurgiLance achieved sales of almost $1 million in 2001 and sales in excess of $1.5 million during the first six months of 2002.

Cooper also said the current U.S. market for safety lancets is believed to be in the $100 million range and is expected to more than double within the next few years as healthcare facilities convert from conventional to safety lancets.

Ed. note: This release was published prior to MediPurpose™ changing its name from its prior company name—SurgiLance—in 2006.