SAN CLEMENTE, CA / ACCESSWIRE / September 6, 2018 / ReShape Lifesciences Inc. (NASDAQ: RSLS), a developer of minimally invasive medical devices to treat obesity and metabolic diseases, announced today that The State Intellectual Property Office of The People's Republic of China has granted a device patent to the Company that expands the patent portfolio for the ReShape VestTM. The Chinese patent number ZL201410538627.2, which is titled 'Gastric Restriction Devices for Treating Obesity' is directed to a novel laparoscopic gastric restriction device to treat obesity.
'We are very excited about this patent that helps protect our proprietary, minimally invasive, novel technology to address the significant obesity market in China,' said Dan Gladney, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of ReShape Lifesciences. 'Obesity has become a major concern in China, where obesity-related co-morbidities such as hypertension, diabetes and coronary heart disease are costing the country significant dollars and where the government's recently-released 'healthy China 2030' blueprint is driving public health as a priority.'
Research by Imperial College London found that China's obesity rate has skyrocketed in the last 30 years to one of the highest obesity rates in the world. According to a publication in 'Obesity Surgery', a total of 7,779 bariatric procedures were reported in China from 2001 to 2015, almost 90% of which were performed since 2010 and almost 90% of all operations were performed laparoscopically. The publication also cites that the absolute number of bariatric surgeries in China increased 148.7 times from 2010-2015 compared to the 2001-2005 period.
About ReShape Lifesciences Inc.
ReShape Lifesciences™ is a medical device company focused on technologies to treat obesity and metabolic diseases. The FDA-approved ReShape Balloon™ System involves a non-surgical weight loss procedure that uses advanced balloon technology designed to take up room in the stomach to help people with a 30-40 kg/m2 Body Mass Index (BMI) and at least one co-morbidity lose weight. ReShape vBloc™ Therapy, delivered by an FDA-approved pacemaker-like device called the ReShape vBloc System, is designed to help patients with a 40-45 kg/m2, or a 35-39.9 kg/m2 BMI and at least one co-morbidity feel full and eat less by intermittently blocking hunger signals on the vagus nerve. The ReShape Vest™ System is an investigational, minimally invasive, laparoscopically implanted medical device that wraps around the stomach, emulating the gastric volume reduction effect of conventional weight-loss surgery, and is intended to enable rapid weight loss in obese and morbidly obese patients without permanently changing patient anatomy.
Forward-Looking Safe Harbor Statement:
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of words such as 'expect,' 'plan,' 'anticipate,' 'could,' 'may,' 'intend,' 'will,' 'continue,' 'future,' other words of similar meaning and the use of future dates. These forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations of our management and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others: risks and uncertainties related to our acquisitions of ReShape Medical, Inc. and BarioSurg, Inc.; risks related to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's announcement to alert health care providers of unanticipated deaths involving the ReShape Balloon; our proposed ReShape Vest product may not be successfully developed and commercialized; our ability to continue as a going concern if we are unsuccessful in our pursuit of various funding options; our limited history of operations; our losses since inception and for the foreseeable future; our limited commercial sales experience; the competitive industry in which we operate; our ability to maintain compliance with the Nasdaq continued listing requirements; our dependence on third parties to initiate and perform our clinical trials; the need to obtain regulatory approval for our ReShape Vest and any modifications to our vBloc system or ReShape Balloon; physician adoption of our products; our ability to obtain third party coding, coverage or payment levels; ongoing regulatory compliance; our dependence on third party manufacturers and suppliers; the successful development of our sales and marketing capabilities; our ability to raise additional capital when needed; international commercialization and operation; our ability to attract and retain management and other personnel and to manage our growth effectively; potential product liability claims; the cost and management time of operating a public company; potential healthcare fraud and abuse claims; healthcare legislative reform; and our ability to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection for our technology and products. These and additional risks and uncertainties are described more fully in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, particularly those factors identified as "risk factors" in our annual report on Form 10-K filed April 2, 2018 and quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed August 20, 2018. We are providing this information as of the date of this press release and do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
Investor Contact:
Scott Youngstrom
Chief Financial Officer
ReShape Lifesciences, Inc.
949-276-6042
syoungstrom@reshapelifesci.com
or
Gilmartin Group
Debbie Kaster, 415-937-5403
Investor Relations
debbie@gilmartinir.com
SOURCE: ReShape Lifesciences Inc.
