EBR powers up its IP punch as WiSE runway extends to 2043
EBR has tightened the moat around its WiSE heart device with a fresh batch of global patents.
USPTO and Japan grant EBR Systems four new patents, taking the tally to 58 US and nine international
One patent-term extension faces a preliminary knockback after a late filing
Update lands as WiSE enters US rollout with growing momentum
Special Report: EBR Systems has tightened the moat around its WiSE heart device with a fresh batch of global patents.
EBR Systems (ASX:EBR) is building more than the world’s first wireless left-ventricular pacing solution, it’s building the intellectual property fortress that protects it.
Today, the Sunnyvale-based med-tech made that point crystal clear, revealing a fresh batch of global patents and an important update on the legal armour surrounding its WiSE cardiac technology.
The company noted that WiSE has long been supported by a substantial and steadily expanding IP portfolio.
The company announced that the US Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has granted EBR three new patents, while Japan’s Patent Office has granted one more.
As EBR put it, this brings the tally to 58 granted US patents, nine granted non-US patents and 13 applications pending among other IP, with the latest patents expiring in 2043.
For a company building the world’s only wireless cardiac pacing device for heart failure, longevity matters.
Investors want a runway, and EBR today showed it has one stretching nearly two decades.
The patents stretch across the entire WiSE platform.
They cover leadless cardiac pacing using ultrasound transduction, the sensor and transmitter, the receiver and stimulator electrode, the programmer, the delivery system, and the mechanisms that detect the location of the receiver and transducer electrode.
Taken together, the company says these patents provide protection for every major component of the WiSE system, forming a long-term IP shield around the technology.
A setback on one patent, and the path forward
The more complicated part of today’s update relates to a single US patent that EBR tried to extend.
The US Patent Term Extension (PTE) mechanism allows patent holders to make up for time lost during clinical studies and FDA approvals.
EBR identified one patent due to expire in 2030 and sought to extend it by about four and a half years. But under US law, the PTE must be submitted within 60 calendar days of FDA approval.
EBR’s external patent firm lodged the application one day after the statutory deadline, and the USPTO has issued a preliminary notice disallowing the extension while seeking additional information from the FDA before issuing a final notice.
The company is now obtaining independent expert advice regarding its options and available recourse, and says it will update the market as appropriate.
It’s a procedural misstep, but it sits against a backdrop of more than 70 granted patents globally and dozens more still in motion.
One late submission does not erase a moat that has taken nearly two decades to build.
Momentum gives today’s IP update extra weight
While today’s announcement is centred on patents, it lands at a time when WiSE is already beginning its commercial life in the US.
Since receiving FDA approval in April, clinicians have started implanting the system in real patients, showing that WiSE is moving beyond concept and into routine clinical hands.
Recent NTAP and TPT rulings also mean US hospitals now have a financial pathway that supports adoption of WiSE, removing one of the biggest hurdles new cardiac technologies face.
The company’s most recent quarter showed early signs of that momentum, with revenue increasing as rollout activity expanded.
WiSE enters commercial era
EBR emphasised that continued research activity is already generating new patent applications which, if granted, will extend the WiSE runway even further.
The company also notes that years of development have produced extensive know-how and trade secrets, the sort of tacit IP that is often harder to replicate than a formal patent claim.
In its announcement, EBR said this creates “significant barriers to any emerging competitors considering the development of a similar product”, and that it remains unaware of any technologies in development that it considers direct competitors.
This aligns with broader sentiment emerging from recent clinical conferences.
As cardiologists reassess conduction-system pacing following new trial data, many are looking for solutions that retain physiologic pacing benefits without the limitations of transvenous systems.
Early physician feedback indicates WiSE may increasingly fill that role, not only for complex CRT cases but potentially for new heart failure patients from the outset.
A platform with a long runway
Against that competitive and clinical landscape, today’s patent update feels less like a routine disclosure and more like reinforcement of a long-term strategy.
Stronger IP means stronger pricing power, stronger barriers to entry, and stronger confidence for large US hospitals now weighing long-term adoption decisions.
In med-tech, success rarely hinges on a single innovation.
And today, EBR reminded the market that WiSE is not just a novel device, it is a platform with a patent runway extending to 2043.
This article was developed in collaboration with EBR Systems, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.
This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.
