St. Jude Medical ($STJ) gained a CE mark for its second product group of neurostimulators designed to treat chronic migraines. As competition heats up in the space, the Minnesota device company is pushing this line's tiny size to set it apart.
Specifically, St. Jude gained approval for its Eon neurostimulators, including its Eon Mini, which the company bills as the world's smallest rechargeable device in the space. It's about as big as a man's watch and weighs about 1 ounce, powered by a battery that can recharge for about 10 years. The peripheral nerve stimulation device delivers mild electrical pulses to the occipital nerves just under the skin in the back of the head, via leads placed under the skin connecting to the device, a bit like how a pacemaker works. Eon follows St. Jude's Genesis line, which gained its CE mark a little more than a year ago.
St. Jude said it backed Eon's regulatory submission with a double-blind randomized controlled clinical study that showed 65% of patients who received peripheral nerve stimulation over 12 weeks were able to achieve excellent or good pain relief. Competition in the U.S. and Europe is heating up, however, in the bid to develop neurostimulation devices that treat migraines. Among competitors developing or selling competing products: Autonomic Technologies, Neuros Medical and archrival Medtronic ($MDT).
- read the release
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