MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--NeuroPace, Inc., a Silicon Valley-based medical technology company that developed the world’s first and only closed-loop brain-responsive neurostimulation system shown to significantly reduce seizure frequency, announced today that it closed a $74 million round of funding led by the KCK Group and OrbiMed Advisors. This funding provides the resources necessary to rapidly expand commercialization of the NeuroPace RNS® System, a device approved by FDA to treat adults with partial (focal) onset seizures that are not well controlled by medication alone.
“The outstanding clinical results obtained with the RNS System provide very compelling evidence to alter the epilepsy treatment paradigm,” said Jonathan Silverstein, J.D., OrbiMed Partner. “Even more exciting may be the unprecedented chronic EEG data captured by the RNS System, which provides physicians with a unique ‘window to the brain’ to improve patients’ outcomes over time.”
The RNS System has been evaluated in multiple controlled, prospective studies. Outcomes are long-lasting and robust as evidenced by the 72% median seizure reduction patients experienced seven years after initiating the therapy, including 30% of patients who experienced seizure reductions of 90% or greater. Approximately 1,300 patients in the U.S. have been implanted with the system to date.
“We are very impressed with NeuroPace’s accomplishments,” said Greg Garfield, Sr. Managing Director of the KCK Group. “The company created the first FDA-approved device to successfully apply brain-computer interface technology to monitor brain waves, detect unusual activity and respond in a way that is imperceptible and invisible to the patient. While epilepsy is the near-term therapy focus, the potential to apply this groundbreaking technology to other neurological conditions is enormous.”
“With this additional funding, we now have the resources necessary to substantially accelerate adoption of RNS System and improve quality of life for hundreds of thousands of patients in the U.S. alone who live with uncontrolled, disabling seizures,” said Frank Fischer, NeuroPace CEO.
Nearly 3.4 million Americans live with epilepsy—a number which, according to the CDC, represents a 25% increase over the past 5 years. About 1 million of these patients have medically refractory epilepsy for which medications do not provide seizure control. Epilepsy is the fourth most common neurologic disorder in the U.S. There are as many people diagnosed with epilepsy as with autism spectrum disorders, Parkinson’s disease and multiple sclerosis combined.
About the NeuroPace RNS® System
The RNS System is the first and only closed-loop brain-responsive neurostimulation system designed to prevent epileptic seizures at their source. The RNS System treats seizures by continuously monitoring brain waves, detecting unusual activity, and automatically responding with imperceptible electrical pulses before seizures occur. Physicians can program the detection and stimulation parameters of the implanted RNS neurostimulator non-invasively to personalize therapy for each individual.
About NeuroPace
NeuroPace is an innovative medical device company dedicated to improving quality of life for individuals with medically refractory epilepsy. In addition to treating epilepsy, responsive neurostimulation holds the promise of treating several other disabling neurological disorders that negatively impact quality of life for millions of patients throughout the world.
To learn more about the journeys of some of the patients receiving RNS Therapy, visit http://www.neuropace.com/stories/.
