Abbott (NYSE:ABT) today touted short- and long-term data published in the journal Pain, which demonstrated that its dorsal root ganglion stimulation therapy benefits patients suffering from complex regional pain syndrome more than traditional spinal cord stimulation.
The Abbott Park, Ill.-based company said it’s the only company in the world approved to offer DRG stimulation. The newly-published data is from the company’s ACCURATE study, which evaluated DRG stimulation in patients for 3 and 12 months.
“Historically, many patients with chronic pain resulting from complex regional pain syndrome or pain resulting from damage to peripheral nerves report inconsistent or inadequate pain relief from tonic spinal cord stimulation. As a physician this is frustrating because our ultimate goal is to deliver options providing meaningful pain relief,” lead author Dr. Timothy Deer said in prepared remarks. “The findings highlighted in our publication align with what I’ve seen in my practice since U.S. approval of DRG stimulation: that DRG stimulation offers a superior option for CRPS-related chronic pain and improved quality of life for my patients.”
After 3 and 12 months, patients who received Abbott’s DRG stimulation therapy had meaningful pain relief and 74.2% of them had treatment success, compared to 53% of patients who received traditional SCS.
Secondary endpoint data showed that at 12 months, more than a third of the patients who received DRG stimulation were experiencing 80% pain relief with no paresthesia. DRG patients also demonstrated statistically greater improvements in quality of life compared to their counterparts in the control group.
“Data such as these are critical to providing patients hope that there are treatment options out there that can provide meaningful pain relief for the excruciating pain CRPS sufferers deal with every day,” Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association exec VP & director Jim Broatch added. “Our organization, which has focused for years on advancing treatments for patients with CRPS, applauds the physicians and patients who took part in this study and who have helped advance the understanding of this condition and the impact of DRG stimulation on improving the lives of patients everywhere.”
Earlier this month, Abbott closed its $25 billion buy of St. Jude Medical (NYSE:STJ). According to the merger agreement, St. Jude Medical will now be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Abbott.