BOSTON & MANHASSET, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--PathMaker Neurosystems Inc. (“PathMaker”), a clinical-stage neurotechnology company developing non-invasive neurotherapy systems for the treatment of patients with neuromotor disorders, announced today that it has launched an Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved human clinical trial in conjunction with Northwell Health (formerly North Shore-LIJ Health System) and The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research to evaluate the safety and efficacy of MyoRegulator™ for the treatment of spasticity, a muscle control disorder that is characterized by tight or stiff muscles and an inability to control those muscles.
“Initiating our Company’s first formal human clinical trial represents a significant milestone in our strategy to rapidly and efficiently bring to market an entirely new, non-invasive approach to treating spasticity,” said Nader Yaghoubi, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of PathMaker. “We are delighted to be working with Northwell Health and The Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, leaders in the emerging field of bioelectronic medicine.”
“We are thrilled to partner with PathMaker and begin studying a new treatment that could provide relief for patients who suffer from spasticity – a serious condition that can often inhibit patients from participating in everyday activities,” said Bruce T. Volpe, MD, lead investigator of the study and investigator of the Laboratory of Biomedical Science at the Feinstein Institute. “I see patients who can no longer open doors or feed themselves as a result of suffering from spasticity. It is my hope that at the conclusion of this trial, we will see that MyoRegulator is a safe and effective treatment option.”
PathMaker also announced that it has received positive confirmation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that clinical trials for MyoRegulator constitute non-significant risk (NSR) device studies. NSR designation by the FDA allows clinical trials to proceed in the U.S. without the need to submit for approval an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) application, because the trials, as assessed by FDA, are not considered to present a potential for serious risk to the health, safety or welfare of a subject. PathMaker’s MyoRegulator was also one of the first products designated for FDA’s Expedited Access Pathway (EAP), a new FDA pathway intended for breakthrough products to facilitate patients gaining more rapid access to critical medical devices by expediting their development, assessment and review.
MyoRegulator is a first-in-class, non-invasive device for treating patients with spasticity using our proprietary DoubleStimTM technology for multi-site neurostimulation. Spasticity is a common and disabling condition found in many patients with stroke, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord injury, brain injury and other neurological conditions, and there are over 15 million patients worldwide affected by spasticity. Patients with spasticity have damaged neural pathways that give rise to hyperexcitable spinal circuits, and our DoubleStimTM technology has been shown in published animal studies to be able to suppress the hyperexcitability, thereby leading to reduced muscle spasticity. MyoRegulator is an investigational device and is limited by United States law to investigational use only.
PathMaker will be presenting at the 11th Annual Neurotech Investing and Partnering Conference, being held in Boston, MA on April 6-7, 2016, in the Emerging Company Showcase.
About PathMaker Neurosystems Inc.
PathMaker Neurosystems
Inc. is a clinical-stage neurotechnology company founded to
commercialize recent breakthrough advances in the development and
clinical application of trans-spinal
direct current stimulation (tsDCS) to patients with neuromotor
disorders. With offices in Boston (US) and Paris (France), PathMaker is
moving forward a trans-Atlantic strategy to rapidly bring to market
entirely novel, breakthrough approaches to non-invasively treating
neuromotor disorders. More than 48 million patients in the US, Europe
and China suffer disabilities due to stroke, cerebral palsy, multiple
sclerosis, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, Parkinson’s
disease and other neurological disorders. At PathMaker, we are opening
up a new era of non-invasive neurotherapy for patients suffering from
chronic neuromotor conditions. Visit the company website at www.pmneuro.com.
About Northwell Health
Northwell Health (formerly North
Shore-LIJ Health System) is New York State’s largest health care
provider and private employer. With 21 hospitals and nearly 450
outpatient practices, we serve more than 1.8 million people annually in
the metro New York area and beyond. Our 61,000 employees work to change
health care for the better. We’re making breakthroughs in medicine at
the Feinstein Institute. We're training the next generation of medical
professionals at the visionary Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine and
the School of Graduate Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. And we
offer health insurance through CareConnect. For information on our
services in more than 100 medical specialties, visit Northwell.edu.
About Feinstein Institute for Medical Research
The Feinstein
Institute for Medical Research, the research arm of Northwell Health, is
home to international scientific leaders. We rank in the top 6th
percentile of all National Institutes of Health grants awarded to
research institutes. We’re making breakthroughs in many areas, including
genetics, oncology, brain research, mental health, autoimmunity and
immunology, and bioelectronic medicine – a new field of science that has
the potential to revolutionize medicine. For more information about how
we empower imagination and pioneer discovery, visit FeinsteinInstitute.org.