Spire Corporation Receives $943,045 NIH Grant to Improve Dental Implants

Spire Corporation Receives $943,045 NIH Grant to Improve Dental Implants
May 10, 2004
Spire
New hydroxyapatite nanophase coatings designed to shorten fixation time of dental implants.
Spire Corporation (Nasdaq: SPIR) today announced that it has received a two-year grant of $943,045 from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. Under this SBIR Phase II grant, its wholly owned subsidiary, Spire Biomedical, will further develop and demonstrate its proprietary IonTite(TM) hydroxyapatite ("HA") coatings to enhance fixation and longevity of dental implants. In the first phase of this program, Spire demonstrated that its coatings provide superior performance to existing HA coatings. The Phase II studies are a critical step for further demonstrating the coating's advantages, leading to broader commercial usage of the technology.
Dental implants are used to replace missing teeth or to anchor dentures and bridges. Implants offer improved function and aesthetics compared to conventional treatment methods but require a lengthy insertion process for the implant to become fixed in the bone. Also, implants can loosen under load. Spire's IonTite HA coatings are designed to accelerate the anchoring process and improve stability, both of which are critical to patient comfort and long-term implant performance.
Mark Little, CEO of Spire Biomedical, stated, "Hydroxyapatite coatings have long been used on a wide range of orthopedic and dental implants to enhance fixation. We believe that our IonTite coatings offer distinct advantages compared to the current technology, including excellent adhesion and the ability to precisely tailor film properties to optimize fixation. IonTite coatings are a perfect fit with our current business of providing coatings and surface treatments to the orthopedic and dental markets."
Spire Corporation provides products and services based upon a common technology platform to the biomedical, solar and optoelectronics industries worldwide.
Certain matters described in this news release may be forward-looking statements subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the risk of dependence on market growth, competition and dependence on government agencies and other third parties for funding contract research and services, as well as other factors described in the Company's Form 10-KSB filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.