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One of the key themes emerging from the 2019 IEEE Conference on Neural Engineering, held in San Francisco earlier this month, is the often treacherous path of bringing a new neuromodulation therapy from research lab to regulatory approval [see Conference Report, p7]. One of the keynote speakers at the event, Mark George from the Medical University of South Carolina, offered his advice to entrepreneurs seeking to maximize the probability of a successful clinical trial and market approval.

SNS Market 201902 February 2019 issue The market for sacral nerve stimulation systems to treat bowel and bladder disorders has been dominated portfolio. But two new publicly traded U.S. firms are seeking to take SNS market share from Medtronic while several others are exploring other neuromodulation modalities. According to the Market for Neurotechnology: 2018-2022, the worldwide neuromodulation ma…

One of the most confounding challenges facing the neurotechnology industry is the lack of awareness of neurotech therapies among the public and clinician communities. It is not enough to have a neurotech device that offers therapeutic advantages compared to traditional medical management for a target patient population. If the patient community and the clinician base serving that community is not sufficiently aware of the device and what it can offer, then that device is less likely to achieve commercial success.

Vendors of visual prosthetic systems have expanded their product offerings and also their target market in recent months as the emerging industry continues to expand. Both Second Sight and Pixium Vision announced significant commercial and clinical progress at the Digital Medicine and Medtech Showcase in San Francisco, CA earlier this month. Second Sight CEO Will McGuire provided preliminary results from the first five patients in a feasibility study of the company’s Orion cortical stimulation system.

Nearly 3000 pain doctors, neurosurgeons, neural engineers and related professionals attended the 2019 meeting of the North American Neuromodulation Society in Las Vegas, NV earlier this month. Several neuromodulation device vendors used the show to report study results or new product introductions. Keynote speaker Sam Quinones, a journalist and author, related stories of how the pharmaceutical industry used an army of sales reps to push opioids on doctors and patients in the last two decades.

One of the greatest challenges confronting both startup and established neurotechnology firms seeking to commercialize new therapies is obtaining reimbursement. Even after a new device has run the gauntlet of clinical trials and paperwork to obtain FDA approval, a vendor must often begin the process all over again with CMS in order to obtain coverage and there is no guarantee that a decision will ever come.

Neurotech Reports, the publisher of the Neurotech Business Report newsletter, announced the appointment of Jo Jo Platt as Director of Strategic Development. She will head up marketing efforts for the upcoming Bioelectronic Medicine Forum in New York City, April 4, 2019. Platt, based in San Francisco, CA, brings more than 10 years experience as a neurotechnology consulant to Neurotech Reports. As th…

Two different research teams in the U.S. and Australia have recently reported progress in developing alternative forms of brain neuromodulation. The two independent efforts have spawned commercial neurotech startup firms and may eventually impact the market for deep brain stimulation systems. A team of researchers in Australia recently reported that electrical stimulation can be delivered into the brain from a 4 mm diameter “Stentrode” device permanently implanted inside a blood vessel.

More than 300 interventional pain physicians, fellows, and other medical professionals attended the 9th annual California Society of Interventiional Pain Physicians conference held at the Ritz-Carlton Bacara Resort and Spa in Santa Barbara, CA last month. The event was supported , and gold sponsors Medtronic, Abbott, and Nevro, along with many others. New to CASIPP this year was a Mobile Cadaver Lab conducted in the resort parking lot.

As 2018 comes to a close, most industry observers would agree that this was one of the best years ever for neurotechnology. A combination of regulatory, funding, and financial events make this past year stand out. As in previous years, there were several encouraging government initiatives announced in 2018. The FDA launched an innovation challenge to spur the development of devices to address the opioid epidemic.