By Thomas Lee
CVRx Inc. of Plymouth, Minn., said Monday that hypertension patients using its Rheos stimulation device reported a sharp drop in blood pressure after four years.
In a study presented at the European Society of Hypertension meeting, the company said patients’ average systolic blood pressure dropped 27 percent to 140 mmHg (millimeters of mercury) from 193 mmHg with the greatest loss experienced in the fourth year. CVRx also said patients, whose bodies resist anti-hypertension drugs, used fewer medications.
Minnesota is home to a group of startups seeking to use neurostimulation in novel ways. Apnex Medical Inc. in St. Paul is developing a device to treat obstructive sleep apnea. EnteroMedics Inc. in Roseville is seeking to become the first company in the United States to sell a device that treats obesity with electricity.
CVRx’s Rheos technology, currently approved in Europe and undergoing Phase III trials in the U.S., stimulates the baroceptors, the body’s natural blood pressure sensors located in the carotid artery. The brain instructs the arteries to relax, which eases the flow of blood throughout the body, and the heart to slow down, allowing more time for the heart to fill with blood.
CVRx has raised more than $100 million from investors like Johnson & Johnson, New Enterprise Associates, InterWest Partners and Kearny Venture Partners.
