Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) yesterday said it acquired spinal cord stimulation company Stimgenics for an undisclosed amount.
Stimgenics has developed a spinal cord stimulation waveform known as Differential Target Multiplexed Spinal Cord Stimulation. The therapy is delivered through Medtronic’s Intellis platform and is a chronic pain treatment option.
“Stimgenics’s research is deeply rooted in clinical science that began with animal work more than a decade ago. Our preclinical data demonstrated that the modulation of both neurons and glial cells may return glial cells to their normal state and modify how they interact with neurons, which could normalize biological processes and break the pain cascade, founder and lead investigator of Stimgenics Ricardo Vallejo said in a news release. “I’m thrilled that Medtronic has acquired a therapy that has the potential to significantly improve outcomes for chronic pain patients.”
The DTM waveform technology in studies has shown a statistically significant reversal of pain behaviors compared to either low frequency or high frequency alone, according to the company. Studies have also shown that the DTM waveform has a greater impact on the neural-glial interaction than other frequencies alone.
“Medtronic is committed to proving clinically-proven therapeutic options for millions of patients suffering from chronic pain around the world,” president of Medtronic’s pain therapies business Marshall Stanton said. “We believe that DTM therapy will advance the treatment of chronic pain, supported by clinical evidence and preclinical research on a neuronal-glial mechanism of action. It’s an exciting, new proprietary SCS waveform that will be available on the Intellis platform, and we are looking forward to seeing the results of the randomized control trial data later this month at NANS (North American Neuromodulation Society).”
The acquisition will be neutral to the fiscal year 2020 earnings per share.
