Wool Equities subsidiary Keratec says it has taken out a US patent on the manufacturing process it uses to recover natural keratin from wool.
Keratec sells the recovered protein for cosmetics and dietary supplements with emphasis on its role as a component in the body's new cell growthand healing after injury.
The Keratec technology for extracting hard keratins that make up most of the weight of wool has been adapted for a range of high-value, niche-market applications.
The company said its methods did not degrade the proteins in the keratin, which was left capable of being reconstituted into tough materials - like a natural polymer.
Keratec chief executive Bruce Foulds said the patent would protect the keratin-extraction step used for many of the company's products and technologies.
It is seeking six other patents for use of keratin in wound care and in artificial "bone" for orthopaedic reconstruction and other surgery.
The US patent, granted in December 2006, outlines details of the two-stage process of "digesting" the wool and washing out the keratin.
With its US partner, Keraplast Technologies Ltd - which holds an earlier patent for extracting keratin from hair - Keratec owns worldwide rights to using keratin in medical applications. It is developing and manufacturing a range of new keratin-based biomedical, industrial and consumer products.
