Spinal Cord and Nerve Stimulation Companies, Disease Diagnostics for Immunotherapy

Jan 31, 2020 | Blog

 

DEALFLOWUPDATE
Issue #49. Friday, January 31
Hello Everyone,

For this edition of the Zoic newsletter, we’ll be looking at a group of spinal cord and nerve stimulation companies, new infectious disease diagnostics, using vaccines to improve immunotherapy and new uses for biomarkers.
-Neal

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Deal Flow
 
This edition highlights spinal cord and nerve stimulation companies, new infectious disease diagnostics and vaccines designed to improve immunotherapy.

We see continual growth in using electrical simulation of the nervous system, including for the spinal cord. A new stimulator has shown promise in reducing chronic back and leg pain. This is especially important with the consequences of opiod addiction still being felt. We will see more innovations like this where medical devices can have the same, or greater effect than pharmaceuticals with less side effects. Read More

In the same vein, Medtronic recently acquired a pain therapy device maker. This is another spinal cord stimulation system with much of the same chronic pain management as before. The market might be getting more crowded with similar devices, and it’s worth noting that the acquisition activity is still continuing. Read More

On the diagnostic front, we will see continual movement in lower cost, faster diagnostic devices. For example, a device that is able to identify viral particles in minutes has been developed in an early stage. This can be used for field use, bio-threat detection or even to identify the source of a viral infection when a patient first enters a hospital or clinic. Read More

We have discussed low-cost, consumer use biomarker detection devices before, mostly for diagnosing medical conditions or information for consumer interest. Consumer uses are very attractive as they require less regulatory filings (or even none in some cases), faster time to market and a cash pay market. One such consumer uses is for food allergies, such as in this case. This is in high demand, such as for parents and can be a way by which a major platform can quickly enter the market and gather revenue, helping fund longer term applications that require more regulatory approval. Read More

Lastly, we are still monitoring immunotherapies – even though the field is in pharma, the exit times are much closer to our specific metrics than the usual deals in this space. There is even a growing interest in additional materials and components that can be added to immunotherapies to enhance their effectiveness. For example, components from vaccines or deactivated viruses can substantially increase the rate at which immunotherapy compounds battle cancer. These components can be co-developed and/or licensed out to pharma components early on, providing an early exit or revenue stream even early on in the development process. Read More 

What We’re Reading
Time
Researchers Find 102 Genes Linked to Autism in the Largest Study of its Kind to Date
Crunchbase
Melinda Gates’ Pivotal Ventures Commits $50M To Increase Women In Tech And Support Emerging Hubs
 Forbes
We’ve Been In a Multi-Year Bull Cycle In Biotech Startup Formation
 Stanford SI Review
Predicting a ‘Kilo of Impact’

 
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