News

To date, the worldwide neuromodulation market has been largely driven stimulation systems to treat various forms of chronic pain. One of the newest pain indications to be approved for neuromodulation therapies is pain related to diabetes. The recent meeting of the American Diabetes Association, which concluded its 84th Scientific Sessions, featured three notable exhibitors with approved products for the treatment of painful diabetic neuropathy: Abbott, Medtronic, and Nevro, alongside two insightful poster sessions.

As the market for bioelectronic medicine expands, vendors will face a growing need to develop a sales force and distribution channel that is best suited to the market each company has targeted. This is particularly important for manufacturers of implanted devices, who will be tasked with reaching out to clinicians from a number of clinical specialties. Deploying a field sales force is very expensive and management-intensive.

In the 24 years that we’ve been covering the neurotechnology industry, we’ve witnessed a wide range of both positive and negative developments. As is the case with most fields, startups, investors, and investigators can expect to experience their share of ups and downs as the industry develops. But rarely have we witnessed the yo-yo series of wins and losses that have been visited upon one company, Cala Health, in such a short timeframe.

Bioelectronic medicine therapies have offered promise for treating pathologies in a number of clinical specialties outside neurological disorders, including urology, cardiology, pulmonology, and endocrinology. Recently, a team of investigators from the University of Chicago and other institutions reported their work on a bioelectronic device with applications in dermatology. Publishing in the journ…

Pain physicians, neurosurgeons, neurologists, and neural engineering professionals assembled in Vancouver, BC last month for the 16th World Congress of the International Neuromodulation Society. At the meeting, Giancarlo Barolat, a neurosurgeon and spinal cord stimulation pioneer, received the Giants of Neuromodulation Award. The conference featured a preconference workshop devoted to Innovations i…

Executives and entrepreneurs from several neurotechnology assembled in New York City earlier this month for the 2024 Bioelectronic Medicine Forum. The one-day conference, held at the New York Academy of Medicine in Manhattan, featured sessions with investors, clinicians, and academics seeking to move the industry forward. Keynote speaker Tom Oxley, CEO of BCI firm Synchron, offered a compelling vis…

Economists often describe a product’s life cycle as a transition through four stages: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. When a product approaches the decline stage, offshoring of manufacturing has been a common approach for cutting labor costs. Let’s examine whether the active implantable device industry is nearing its decline. We’ll start our evaluation with cardiac rhythm management de…

Radiotracers, pivotal in advancing neurotechnology and bioelectronic medicine, allow for the noninvasive visualization of biochemical processes, particularly in the brain. These compounds, tagged with radioactive elements, are used in PET imaging techniques to provide detailed views of cellular and molecular biological activities. Their role is vital for understanding and treating complex neurological and physiological conditions.

SetPoint Medical, the Valencia, CA manufacturer of bioelectronic medicine systems, is rightfully considered the pioneer in the field. Since the company’s founding in 2007, it gradually grew to employ more than 80 people and raise more than $300 million in capital to date. The initial market for SetPoint’s VNS therapy is rheumatoid arthritis, with the PMA approval expected next year. With its pivota…

The issue of neurotech privacy is one that has attracted considerable attention from the general public recently. Long-time readers of this publication will recall that we have advocated for protecting users’ neural data from the outset in this space. The issue has taken on more immediacy this month, when the state of Colorado became the first to pass legislation that specifically protects neural data gathered from consumer neurotech devices.