News

The news that St. Jude Medical failed a futility analysis of its BROADEN trial of DBS for treatment of depression cast a pall over an otherwise upbeat attendance at the 2013 NANS meeting [see Conference Report, p7]. Once again, the industry is left to pick up the pieces as a promising new technology gets set back years. It’s too early to assess blame for this failure. It’s tempting to wonder if St.

The neurotech industry has benefitted greatly from new device approvals in recent weeks. Most significant is FDA approval of Neuropace’s RNS device for epilepsy. After an excruciating wait that tested the endurance of entrepreneurs, investors, and investigators alike, the cortical stimulation system is now approved for treating adults with partial onset seizures who have failed to respond to two or more antiepileptic medications [see article, p3].

assistant editor About 80 executives, entrepreneurs, researchers, and financial professionals attended the 2013 Neurotech Leaders Forum, held in San Francisco earlier this month. The first day of the event was devoted to implantable neurotechnology systems. Keynote speaker Danny Sachs offered attendees insight into promoting neurotech innovation. He emphasized connecting concepts from different disciplines and generating many new ideas.

Neurotech Reports, the publisher of the Neurotech Business Report newsletter, announced the winners of the 2013 Gold Electrode Awards, selected in five categories the publication. The awards were presented at the 2013 Neurotech Leaders Forum in San Francisco on October 14. The Gold Electrode Award for Best New Product was presented to Second Sight Medical Products of Valencia, CA for its Argus II retinal prosthesis.

A sense of guarded optimism permeated the 13th annual Neurotech Leaders Forum, held in San Francisco earlier this month [see conference report, p7].In a session called “Neurotech Deal Scoreboard,” executives from Medtronic and Spinal Modulation, along with an industry consultant and financial professional, sounded a positive note on recent investment and partnership activity in the neurotech space.

Several startup and early stage neurotechnology companies will be presenting at the 2013 Neurotech Leaders Forum, to be held in San Francisco, CA October 14-15. These include Neuro Recovery Technologies, Inc., a Southern California neurorehabilitation startup cofounded . The company is developing a novel spinal cord stimulation system to promote rehabilitation and locomotion in individuals with spinal cord injury.

The market for treating vestibular disorders may be a potential area of growth for the neurotechnology industry. There is significant unmet medical need for inner ear disorders such as Meniere’s disease, which produces vertigo, tinnitus, and other symptoms. Although there is medication which can help once an attack is underway, there is currently no long-term therapy which can resolve the disease completely.

The market for neurorehabilitation products continues to expand, with established vendors consolidating their product lines and new technologies entering the arena. One key European manufacturer is Hocoma in Switzerland, which markets the Lokomat robotic neurorehabilitation system. The company recently sold its 500th system to a hospital in Hong Kong. Hocoma revenues reached CHF31 million ($33 million) last year and are growing at a 13-percent rate.

It’s nearly impossible to edit a newsletter like Neurotech Business Report without making reference to the individuals who are the intended recipients of neurotech products and therapies. So it caught our attention when we received an email from a new organization called RespectAbilityUSA with advice on how to refer to people with disabilities. Some of the advice is just plain obvious—don’t use the word “retard” or “retarded kid” to refer to someone with a cognitive or learning disability.

News that British pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline has started a venture fund to invest in “bioelectronic” technologies [see article, p1] represents a positive development for the neurotechnology industry. The new fund, and the efforts of GSK’s Bioelectronics R&D unit, not only raises the specter of a new source of funding and partnership for neurotech startups, it opens the door to an expansion of the role that neurotech devices have played in healthcare.