New Bone Augmentation Material Patent Issued to BioLok Medical

(BW)(FL-BIOLOK-INTERNATIONAL)(BLLI) New Bone Augmentation Material Patent Issued to BioLok Medical Writers/Business Editors
DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 3, 2004--Bruce L. Hollander, BioLok's (OTCBB:BLLI) President and Harold Alexander, PhD, President of BioLok's Orthogen Division, are extremely encouraged by research results from New York University & UMDNJ - New Jersey Dental School on the in-vitro and in-vivo testing of BoneGen TR, their newly patented time released calcium sulfate product. Both University research programs, headed by: Dennis Tarnow, DDS at NYU and Saul Weiner, DDS at UMDNJ, are also evaluating the newly approved Silhouette Laser-Lok implants in side-by-side comparative studies with competitive products. Calcium Sulfate has been used safely for over 30 years as a bone augmentation material to fill small voids. It is a safe, non-biological source mineral product. It is fully absorbed naturally into the body without leaving behind trace contaminants. It forms a lattice to support the growth of natural bone and has been recently shown to encourage the growth of new blood vessels. The patent was issued for a "new" time - release version of calcium sulfate that allows doctors to fill all sizes of voids in bone, avoiding the too rapid absorption associated with filling large bony defects. By coating calcium sulfate with PLLA (polylactic acid, polymer), a material commonly used in absorbable sutures and bone tacks, we are able to slow absorption to better match the rate of new bone growth. Both calcium sulfate and PLLA are approved materials for use in the body so BioLok sees no major impediment to rapid regulatory approval for the combined ingredients as a single product. BioLok International Inc. is a publicly traded company that manufactures and distributes its dental implant system and bone regeneration products internationally. The worldwide dental implant market is in excess of $1.2 billion and growing at 13% per year. The worldwide bone augmentation market is approaching $1 billion and is also growing at 13% per year.