Highland Instruments, Inc., Announces Award of Small Business Innovation Research (“SBIR”) Grant for Clinical …

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Highland Instruments, Inc., (Highland) today announced award of a multi-year SBIR Grant from the National Institutes of Health National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NIH-NINDS) for the clinical evaluation of Highlands ElectroSonic Stimulation (ESStim) technology for the treatment of Parkinsons Disease (PD)1. The main academic partner collaborator in this grant and location of the clinical trial will be Spaulding Rehabilitation (Spaulding) Hospitals Laboratory of Neuromodulation (Boston). Felipe Fregni, MD, PhD, MPH, will be the Lead Clinical Investigator. Dr. Fregni is the Director of the Laboratory of Neuromodulation at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Assistant Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School.

Bill Edelman, CEO and Chairman of the Board for Highland commented, We are thrilled to have received award of the SBIR Grant for the clinical evaluation of ESStim. We are currently investigating the potential benefits of ESStim for the management of osteoarthritis pain and look forward to potentially expanding the clinical capabilities of this technology in Parkinsons disease. Dr. Fregni is a pioneer in the world of noninvasive brain stimulation, having conducted groundbreaking trials exploring neuromodulation treatments for chronic pain, Parkinson's disease, and stroke.

Timothy Wagner, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer and Founder for Highland commented, Following years of extensive pre-clinical development, I am excited to see the potential benefits of ESStim being brought into the clinic. Dr. Wagner continued, We hope that ESStim will overcome limitations of other reported non-invasive brain stimulation technologies.

Dr. Felipe Fregni commented, "Receiving this highly competitive grant is encouraging for the development of this novel method of stimulation as we investigate the clinical utility of ESStim as a possible therapy for PD. Investigators have beenstudying a variety of neurostimulation technologies for several decades and the capabilities of ESStim appear very promising. This large NIH grant will be important to advance our knowledge of noninvasive brain stimulation and we are glad that our Laboratory of Neuromodulation at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital is a critical component of this investigation. We look forward to the clinical evaluation of ESStim in this collaborative grant."

During October 2011, Highland initiated a clinical evaluation of ESStim in patients with chronic pain due to osteoarthritis.

On December 16, 2010, Highland received Institutional Review Board (IRB) approval at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital to initiate clinical evaluation ESStim for the management of chronic pain due to osteoarthritis.

About Parkinsons disease

Parkinsons Disease (PD) is a progressive and ultimately fatal neurodegenerative disease characterized by debilitating physical symptoms including resting tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia, and gait dysfunction2,3. Approximately 50,000-100,000 Americans are diagnosed with PD each year, with over 1 million Americans affected at any given time 2,3. PD is a disease of late middle age, usually affecting people over the age of 50. Recently, some healthcare providers have reported increasing cases of "early-onset" Parkinson's disease in the past several years, and some have estimated that 5 to 10 percent of those sufferers are under the age of 404. Parkinsons disease was listed by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) as one of the top 15 causes of death during 20075. In 2007, there were 20,000 Parkinsons - related fatalities in the US4. It is estimated that the annual costs of Parkinsons disease exceeds $25 billion.6

About ElectroSonic Stimulation (ESStim) Technology

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Highland Instruments, Inc., Announces Award of Small Business Innovation Research (“SBIR”) Grant for Clinical ...