News

Learning and Relearning Advances in robotics technology have created some new opportunities in neurorehabilitation, as we discuss in our article on page 1 of this issue. Several commercial ventures have already emerged that offer robotic systems that help restore lower-extremity or upper-extremity function following stroke and other neurological disorders. We expect that there will be new market opportunities in this field for neurorehabilitation firms.

Focus on Epilepsy Localization of the focus of seizures is a critical task in the treatment of epilepsy, as NBR senior technical editor Warren Grill points out in his article on page 1 of this issue. As such, this task represents a significant market opportunity for vendors of neurosensing systems and neurosurgical tools. Whether the information obtained in the localization task is used for presurg…

Controls Out of Control The report that an unanticipated therapeutic effect in the control arm of that company’s recent Empower study may have been the reason the trial failed to reach its efficacy endpoints [see article, p5] is just the latest example of how failure to fully consider the control arm of a clinical trial has led to serious financial harm. In our view, the technology behind EnteroMed…

A Decade of Progress and Challenges As we begin our tenth year of publishing Neurotech Business Report, we can’t help but look back on the previous decade as a time of amazing progress yet some frustrating challenges for the neurotechnology industry. As the decade—and the twenty-first century—began, there was one major competitor, Medtronic Inc., and a number of smaller upstarts competing in just a handful of application areas.

Making Paralysis Count One of the most important tasks in developing a market for medical products is to start with a reasonable estimate of the number of individuals who are candidates for your product. As Jennifer French points out in her article on page 1 of this issue, many neurotechnology firms have been relying on U.S. prevalence figures for paralysis that grossly underestimate the actual number of people living with paralysis.

Neurotech Reports Announces Winners of Gold Electrode Awards The editors of Neurotech Reports selected recipients of the 2009 Gold Electrode Awards in five categories. The awards were presented at the 2009 Neurotech Leaders Forum in Newport Beach, CA earlier this month. The award for Most Promising Startup went to Ardian Inc., a hypertension neuromodulation firm in Palo Alto, CA. St. Jude Medical Neuromodulation won the award for Best New Product for its Brio DBS system.

Neurotech Device and NeuroPharma Execs Attend First Joint Leaders Forum Staff report About 90 neurotechnology and neuropharmaceutical industry executives and entrepreneurs attended the Ninth Annual Neurotech Leaders Forum in Newport Beach, CA earlier this month. For the first time, the event was held in conjunction with the NeuroInvestment Conference and featured parallel conference tracks on the morning of both days, one related to neurotechnology devices and the other to neuropharmaceuticals and cell therapies.

Comparing Comparative Effectiveness As health care reform legislation works its way through the U.S. Congress, it is becoming increasingly likely that some form of comparative effectiveness will be part of the package. As medical reimbursement expert Gerald Rogan pointed out in his talk at the 2009 Neurotech Leaders Forum last month [see Conference Report, p6], neurotechnology vendors should prepar…

MicroTransponder Inc. Spins Off UT Dallas Technology for Neurotech Applications ial director MicroTransponder Inc., a small startup in Dallas, TX, has set out to develop tiny, implantable, wireless “neurotransponders” that may open the way to substantial miniaturization of neurostimulation devices. Perhaps more important in the long run is the potential of these neurotransponders to fundamentally transform how researchers detect and stimulate nerve impulses in vivo.

Hybrid Approach Enables Selective Silencing of Neurons , senior technical editor The ability to regulate the activity of specific populations of neurons—either stimulating them or silencing them—is an essential element of modern neuroscience and a promising approach for treatment of neurological disorders. The selective activation or inactivation of neurons has been accomplished in a number of ways including chemical stimulation or inactivation, electrical stimulation, and through ablative lesions.