Healthcare Technology Featured Article

June 11, 2013

St. Jude Medical Distribution Begins to Leverage the Axium Neurostimulator System


Diagnosing chronic pain is often times a long process that takes the patient through many forms of therapy before they find what works for them. It is estimated one in five adults suffers from chronic pain, limiting how they work and play every single day. St. Jude Medical, Inc., a global medical device company, has entered into an agreement for immediate international distribution rights to the Axium Neurostimulator System from Spinal Modulation Inc.

This agreement gives St. Jude Medical a long-term exclusive option to purchase the company and sell the Axium Neurostimulator System in international markets. The agreement was made after a $40 million equity investment in Spinal Modulation. After it becomes available in the United States, a future option allows St. Jude Medical to purchase the company for $300 million with revenue requirements.

The Axium Neurostimulator System is a new technology based on spinal cord stimulation (SCS) with clinically proven results. It targets a small structure branching off the spinal cord called the Dorsal Root Ganglion (DRG). The DRG can be compared to a traffic signal that is able to stop pain signals from traveling to the brain. This type of stimulation is able to treat pain in areas that have been hard to treat in the past, such as the lower leg and foot. Once the device is implanted, the patient can use a handheld remote control that allows him or her to adjust the power and location of the stimulation as well as turning it on and off.

Like all pain therapies, the goal is to stop the pain by blocking or reducing the signal before it reaches the brain. It does not cure the underlying ailment that is causing the pain. Researchers are addressing many of the issues related to pain and spinal cord injury by conducting breakthrough experiments that will eventually lead them to cure pain and paralysis.

"St. Jude Medical is excited to partner with Spinal Modulation and add the unique and complementary Axium Neurostimulator System to our existing neuromodulation portfolio. This investment in our neuromodulation business further demonstrates St. Jude Medical’s commitment to transforming the treatment of debilitating conditions, including chronic pain, which impacts about 10 to 13 percent of the adult population and carries an economic burden of billions of dollars annually," said Eric S. Fain, M.D., president of the St. Jude Medical Implantable Electronic Systems Division.

The device has been approved in Europe since November of 2011 for the management of chronic and stubborn pain. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given the company an investigation device exemption (IDE), and it is expecting enrollment later this year.




Edited by Jamie Epstein
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