the goan I network
PANAJI
The monobolic dental implant invention which won an European patent last week could simplify and revolutionize surgical procedures in the field of dental implants, according to its inventor Dr Marvin Cota.
Cota, a native of Betalbatim and alumni of the Goa Dental College, interacted with the media on his over six year pursuit of the European patent which was granted last week by the European Patent Office in Munich, Germany.
According to him, his invention despite having got the patent will take time to gain popularity among dental surgeons but once it attains a threshold could increase the use of dental implants to resolve complex missing teeth problems of patients.
“The current implant procedures are cumbersome and many a time require grafting surgeries for jaw bones so as to create the base to hold the implants. Using my monobolic implant invention would be half as difficult and will not require bone-grafting,” Cota said.
He however admitted that although he has attained an European patent and is expecting to also attain one in the US in the next few months, commercial exploitation and the road to make it popular among practitioners and patients will be an onerous and time-consuming task.
Another advantage of his invention over current procedures according to Cota is that while presently only one implant can be fixed at a time, his product can insert up to four implants in a single procedure.
“Costs for the patient will come down as a result,” Cota said.
He said, he has not given a thought yet to commercially exploiting the European patent or a tie-up with any company already operating in the field.
“The immediate task is to convince my community of dental surgeons. I intend to do that on my own. I will start with clinical trials myself and once successful completion of the procedure on 100 patients is documented, only then will I look at how to commercially exploit the invention and patent,” Cota said.
Cota is the son of former Benaulim MLA, late Dr Jose Cota and Clara Cota. He graduated from Goa Dental College in 1990 and launched his private practice in Vasco in 1991. Later, his wife Shirley, also a dental surgeon joined that practice and they opened a branch in Caranzalem, exclusively dedicated to dental implant procedures.
He completed ‘Comprehensive 300 hours Implant Training’ at Chennai with the American Academy of Implant Dentistry in 2005 and through his nearly two decades of practice has placed around 4,000 implants from several companies.
Cota, who briefly broke down when narrating his nearly six year journey to finally land the European patent last week, said he first got an Indian patent in 2012. Later in 2014, he applied for the European patent and a couple of years later, the US patent.
“I did it solo. It cost me a huge amount. At various stages I ran out of funds but I am extremely grateful to my Indian patent lawyer-couple from Pune, Ganesh and Rashmi Hingemere,” he said.
“They moved every obstacle to enable me clinch my patent. They collaborated with the UK patent attorney and the US patent attorney. I am grateful for their services,” he said.
He said, he was one of the first from Goa to register with DIPP for the Narendra Modi government’s flagship ‘Make in India’ and ‘Start-up India’ programmes but somehow the design and conditions of the existing schemes did not suit his patent pursuit in Europe and USA leading to him getting zero-funding from the Centre.
Goa’s own financial assistance schemes which were launched with much fanfare last year by then cabinet minister Rohan Khaunte also gave the inventor-dentist no funding at all.
