Toothpaste Maker Using Indiana Technology to Deliver Decay-Combating Combination

INDIANAPOLIS, IN - Indiana Nanotech announced today that global toothpaste manufacturer 3M ESPE is now using the Indiana company's calcium phosphate technology in its new ClinproTM 5000 specialty toothpaste, a product that packs decay-combating calcium and fluoride in a single paste.

The toothpaste successfully combines Indiana Nanotech's calcium with fluoride to prevent tooth decay, a combination traditionally administered independently or as split-compartment treatments because the two often inhibit each other when combined.

The launch of the new toothpaste, which delivers the same cavity-fighting power of separate calcium and fluoride treatments, comes less than a year after Indiana Nanotech received a grant of more than $768,000 from Indiana's 21st Century Research and Technology Fund to further develop the dental technology.

"The 21st Century Fund provides critical seed capital to emerging high-growth companies such as Indiana Nanotech that are necessary to ensure our state's economic growth," said Governor Mitch Daniels.

Minneapolis-based Fortune 500 company 3M ESPE is currently marketing the new toothpaste through dentists.  Indiana Nanotech is currently working with dental manufacturers to develop over-the-counter mouth rinses and other products that incorporate the technology.

"Furthering the benefits of fluoride by combining fluoride-compatible calcium in a widely accepted and familiar format like a toothpaste may provide significant benefits to high-risk caries patients," said Rob Karlinsey, Indiana Nanotech's chief executive officer.  "We are very proud to develop this technology in Indiana, where innovation and job creation are strongly supported through valuable funding opportunities such as the 21st Century Fund."

Caries are the most prevalent chronic disease for both children and adults, according to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research.  The most recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found that 92 percent of adults ages 20 to 64 and 42 percent of children ages two to 11 have had dental caries in their permanent teeth.

Indiana Nanotech is one of 63 businesses awarded a 21st Century Fund grant since January 2006.  During that time, the fund has invested more than $82 million in high-tech Indiana entrepreneurial companies that collectively have the potential to create thousands of new jobs.