News

The first ever Neurotech Entrepreneurs Workshop, produced , Arizona State University, the University of Houston, and the University of Pittsburgh, was held at the ASU campus on December 13-15, 2019. At the workshop, 20 neurotechnology industry professionals joined 30 future entrepreneurs chosen from a pool of graduate trainees selected to participate . The 30 participants were assigned to one of 10…

The West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute and WVU Medicine announced the launch of a first-in-the-U.S. clinical trial using deep brain stimulation for patients suffering from treatment-resistant opioid use disorder. Funded through a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the clinical trial is led , executive chair of the RNI, and a multidisciplinary team of neurosurgical, psychiatric, neuroscience, and other experts.

Teijin Ltd., the Japanese pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturer, and NeuroSigma, Inc., the Los Angeles, CA manufacturer of trigeminal nerve stimulation systems, announced entering into a partnership based on an exclusive license agreement that grants Teijin Pharma exclusive rights to NeuroSigma’s TNS patent rights in Japan related to ADHD and to market the Monarch eTNS System for the noninvasive treatment of ADHD in Japan.

As the second decade of the 21st century—and the second decade of our coverage of the neurotechnology industry—comes to a close, it’s worth taking a look back over the last year and putting it in context with the last 10 years. There were many significant commercial developments in 2019, including Neuralink’s public announcement, the emergence of new competitors like Axonics Modulation and Saluda Medical, and mergers such as GTX medical/NeuroRevovery Technologies.

The market for implanted sacral nerve stimulation devices to treat bowel and bladder disorders has become decidedly more competitive in recent weeks. Axonics Modulation Technologies received FDA approval for OAB for its rechargeable system and market-leader Medtronic responded with an announcement of its own rechargeable device and a patent infringement lawsuit against Axonics. Earlier this month, Axonics announced FDA approval of the Axonics r-SNM system for the clinical indications of OAB and urinary retention.

Neurotech Reports, the publisher of this newsletter, announced the winners of the 2019 Gold Electrode Awards. The awards were presented at the 2019 Neurotech Leaders Forum in San Francisco on November 5. The award for best new product went to Saluda Medical for its Evoke spinal cord stimulation system. The award for most promising startup went to Nia Therapeutics. The award for most valuable financial professional went to Josh Makower of New Enterprise Associates.

The neurotechnology industry has seen its share of commercial successes in recent years. There have also been a few failures. One of the most significant that we have witnessed is the Chapter 11 filing month [see article, p3]. Though it was at best the number five player in the spinal cord stimulation market behind Abbott, Boston Scientific, Medtronic, and Nevro, Nuvectra possessed considerable eng…

The neurotech market for treating paralysis caused a major step forward this month with two significant announcements, one in the commercial arena and another involving funding. On the commercial side, GTX medical BV, the European firm spun off from the research of Gregoire Courtine at EPFL, announced it has merged with NeuroRecovery Technologies, the Los Angeles firm spun off from Reggie Edgerton’s research at UCLA.

More than 27,000 attendees from 13 countries descended into McCormick Place in Chicago for the 2019 Society for Neuroscience meeting. There were lectures, symposiums, roundtables and press events during the seven-day conference. For an event that is typically heavily focused on hard science, there were several areas of emphasis for the role neuroscience plays in society. A symposium dedicated to high density neural recordings highlighted innovations in interface electrodes and probes.

Neurotech Reports, the publisher of this newsletter, reported that Josh Makower, general partner at VC firm New Enterprise Associates, will keynote on the first day of 2019 Neurotech Leaders Forum in San Francisco, November 4-5. Makower is cofounder of the Stanford Byers Biodesign Center and also founder and executive chairman of ExploraMed, a medical device incubator that has created eight companies over the past 20 years.