Neurotech Startups Exploit Novel Funding Options
As a sign that the investment climate for healthcare startup firms has undergone changes in recent years, several neurotechnology startups have exploited some new fundraising alternatives that were not available a decade ago. Some have turned to crowdfunding options as a way to supplement their startup capital. Earlier this year, NeuroMetrix raised about $400,000 in an Indiegogo campaign that offered participants a Quell surface stimulation device for $199, a discount from the normal $250 price.
SharpBrains Releases Report Detailing Noninvasive Neurotechnology Intellectual Property
SharpBrains, the Washington, D.C. publisher of maket intelligence, released a new 206-page report that, for the first time, analyzes the major intellectual property trends in the pervasive neurotechnology industry: noninvasive, potentially ubiquitous neurotechnologies, commercially viable outside major medical institutions or research facilities. Over the past two years a SharpBrains team, cros…
Encouraging Guidance
May has been a productive month for the neurotechnology industry, with a string of events bringing good news to investors and entrepreneurs. The FDA approval of Nevro’s Senza spinal cord stimulation system [see article, p2] was welcome news not only for the company and its investors, but for the industry as a whole, given the relative paucity of PMA approvals for implanted neuromodulation devices in recent years.
Neurotech Researchers Expand Efforts to Treat Tinnitus
Neural engineers and clinical researchers at commercial firms and research laboratories continue to look for new ways to treat tinnitus, which remains one of the greatest unmet medical needs of the 21st century. Nearly 10 percent of the population has experienced ringing in the ear and 10 million Americans seek medical treatment each year. There are few viable therapies available. One of the earliest neurotech approaches to treating severe tinnitus was epidural stimulation of auditory cortex.
Safety First—and Last
The recent news about the FDA’s consent decree alleging manufacturing and quality problems with Medtronic’s Synchromed infusion pump casts a shadow on both Medtronic and the FDA Center for Devices and Radiological Health. The consent decree requires the company to suspend manufacturing and distribution of the pain pumps. While some contend that it’s unreasonable for the FDA to hold products created…
DBS in the Future
Since its inception, deep-brain stimulation has been a powerful tool for treating neurological disorders. But the invasiveness of the implantation procedure limits DBS to patients who can’t be helped repels some who are good candidates. So we were encouraged to see some ideas for reducing the level of invasiveness of DBS proposed recently. One approach put forward involves carbon nanotube fibers. I…
Mergers Emerging
Observers of the neurotechnology industry have been watching the handful of large publicly-traded neurotech device firms for some time to see which startups would get snapped up in the next M&A deal. So far, 2015 looks like the year of the mega-merger. The announcement that Cyberonics Inc. will merge with Sorin [see article, p5], coupled with Medtronic’s recently closed merger with Covidien, points up a new level of competition in the industry.
Neuromodulation Firms Join Consumer Neurotech Vendors at International CES Show
Several established manufacturers of neuromodulation and neurosensing systems were on hand at the 2015 International CES show in Las Vegas, NV earlier this month. Neurotech firms active in the healthcare space such as NeuroMetrix, Compumedics, Evoke Neuroscience, and Hocoma Inc. used the show to launch consumer versions of their products or to forge alliances with new firms active in the digital health marketplace.
New Electrode Coatings Enhance Neurotech Devices
The market for implanted neurotechnology devices stands to benefit from new advances electrode materials and coatings that promise to extend the capabilities of current devices. Products such as DBS leads, peripheral nerve stimulators, sensing electrodes, and cochlear implants could all take advantage of enhanced capabilities. Two midwestern U.S. firms have recently developed enhanced coating technologies for implanted electrodes.
Promoting Wellness
A significant number of new and established neurotechnology firms are entering the consumer products market, as we cover in our report on the 2015 CES International show on page 7 of this issue. Given the rapidly growing market for consumer neurotech, the industry would be well served on when a new product does or does not need FDA approval. Though many questions still remain, The FDA’s Center for…