The US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted patent to Echo Therapeutics Inc., a company developing its needle-free Symphony CGM System. The US patent No. 8,386,027 covering "Skin Permeation Device For Analyte Sensing or Transdermal Drug Delivery," for the Prelude SkinPrep System, the skin permeation component of the Symphony CGM System.

The patent, describing a device and method for preparing the skin in a controlled, dermabrasive manner to allow for either analyte extraction or drug delivery, was granted on February 26, 2013. The claims encompass the Prelude device and its typical method of use. According to the USPTO's initial calculation of patent term, this patent will expire in 2030.  However, this patent may be entitled to additional patent term due to delays by the USPTO, and may expire at a later date.

"Building on our positive fundamentals, we are excited to be issued this patent for a key component of our Symphony CGM System," said Patrick T. Mooney, MD, chairman and chief executive officer of Echo Therapeutics. "This patent is critical to our intellectual property strategy for protecting our position in non-invasive continuous glucose monitoring and transdermal drug delivery markets worldwide. Furthermore, this US patent issuance serves again to strengthen Echo's already formidable intellectual property estate."

Echo Therapeutics is developing the Symphony CGM System as a non-invasive, wireless, transdermal continuous glucose monitoring system.