Confidential The Device Development Industry December 4, 2010 North American Neuromodulation Society 14 th Annual Meeting Frank Fischer President and CEO NeuroPace, Inc.
Mar 30, 2015
Confidential
The Device Development Industry
December 4, 2010
North American Neuromodulation Society
14th Annual Meeting
Frank Fischer
President and CEO
NeuroPace, Inc.
Confidential
DEVICE DEVELOPMENT HAPPENS IN STAGES
1STAGE : CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
STAGE : TESTING IN ANIMALS2
STAGE : CLINICAL EVALUATION IN HUMANS3
Confidential
DEVICE DEVELOPMENT HAPPENS IN STAGES
1STAGE : CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT
• Test and refine theory – translate to a therapeutic approach• Characterize and improve approach in a representative
bench system
• Easy to iterate• Bench & In Vitro testing -
minimal regulatory issues• Cost of failure is minimal
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STAGE : TESTING IN ANIMALS
DEVICE DEVELOPMENT HAPPENS IN STAGES
2
• Iteration possible but at a cost• Testing requires compliance to
protocols• Failure results in greater loss of
financial resources and time
• Learn about the downsides - characterize side effects, adverse reactions, limitations, technical hurdles• Glean some insights into efficacy, if possible
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STAGE : CLINICAL EVALUATION IN HUMANS
DEVICE DEVELOPMENT HAPPENS IN STAGES
3
• Iterating the concept can be much more difficult• Clinical evaluation requires IRB
and/or FDA approval• Failure in almost every case is
very costly
• Prove safety and efficacy of your approach• If any uncertainty, parse this stage into parts (e.g.,
feasibility and pivotal)
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STAGES ONE AND TWO LAY THE FOUNDATION FOR COMMERCIAL SUCCESS
• Confirm your product concept is feasible and has no obvious safety issues
• Develop intellectual property
1
2
Goals of stages 1 and 2
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STAGES ONE AND TWO CAN BE COMPLETED WITH ONLY BASIC RESOURCES AND MINIMAL FUNDING
1
2
• Basic engineering and prototyping skills
• Internet/ library
• Intellectual property support
• Minimal funding
Resources required
Typically available at your university!
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READY TO BLAST OFF? A SPECTRUM OF OPTIONS EXIST FOR HUMAN EVALUATION
Use already marketed, FDA approved devices
“Boldly go where no one has gone before” – build fully custom devices or systems
Build semi-custom devices via partnership with OEM device firm(s)
STAGE : CLINICAL EVALUATION IN HUMANS3
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EXAMPLE: FUNCTIONAL NEUROSCIENCE
November 2010
“Functional Neuromodulation Inc., a medical technology company, closed a $600,000 seed financing from Genesys Capital”
October 2010
• Used off-the-shelf Medtronic DBS System
• 6 patients with mild Alz disease; stimulate the fornix/ hypothalamus
• Surgery and stimulation well tolerated• Results were mixed but highly
encouraging
STAGE : CLINICAL EVALUATION IN HUMANS3
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EXAMPLE: LEPTOS
• Began human trials using Cyberonics devices
• Learned that gradual stimulation ramping was important to acclimate patients to stimulation
• Partner with OEM device manufacturers to build semi-custom neurostimulators and leads
• Automatic stimulation ramping • Custom lead specific for nerve target
• Stimulation of splanchnic nerve for obesity
STAGE : CLINICAL EVALUATION IN HUMANS3
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EXAMPLE: NEUROPACE
• Responsive stimulation for the treatment of epilepsy
• Early realization that a fully custom system was necessary
• Build multi-functional team to develop and test implantable responsive neurostimulator, leads, programmer, remote patient monitor, and patient data management system
• Develop protocols for clinical evaluation; secure IDE approval from FDA; conduct clinical evaluations
STAGE : CLINICAL EVALUATION IN HUMANS3
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EXAMPLE: NEUROPACE
2000 20102005
Develop-ment
Clinical Evaluation
Implantable RNS
eRNS Study RNS System Feasibility study65 patients
RNS System Pivotal trial191 patients
Perform basic testing in hospital setting with external system
Evaluate implantable system for safety and secondarily, efficacy. Gather data and learn!
Evaluate implantable system for efficacy and safety.
External RNS
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EXAMPLE: NEUROPACE
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COMPARISON OF STAGE 3 OPTIONS REVEALS KEY DIFFERENCESRESOURCES AND EXPERTISE REQUIRED
In-house engineering
+ ++ +++
Device dev expertise
+ ++ +++
Financial efficiency
+++ ++ +
IP opportunity + ++ +++
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CONCLUSION
• Don’t be afraid to get started• Fail quickly!• Iterate until your concept is ready for clinical
evaluation• You cannot over invest in this phase
• Product development can take many paths, but almost always can be accomplished