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Neurent Medical's RF-based Minimally Invasive Rhinitis Therapy Earns Acclaim from Frost & Sullivan 

Frost & Sullivan has recognised Neurent Medical with the 2018 European New Product Innovation Award for developing a non-surgical, minimally invasive device that uses radio frequency (RF) to modulate a nerve group to offer relief from nasal obstruction and rhinorrhea. Neurent is an NUI Galway BioInnovate spin-out and earlier this year announced it had raised €9.3 million in a Series A funding round. The company was established by Brian Shields and David Townley who met through NUI Galway’s BioInnovate Ireland Programme with Enterprise Ireland funding the development work at the University through a Commercialisation Fund programme.

2018 European New Product Innovation Award
With the total annual avoidable expenditure on the European allergy market, not limited to rhinitis, amounting between $50 billion and $150 billion, even back in 2014, Neurent Medical's out-patient device can help customers achieve significant savings by using RF in a highly targeted manner. 

The current clinical gold standard approaches to treating chronic ear, nose, and throat infections range from avoiding various environmental triggers, which provides only temporary relief, to invasive surgery, which often requires lengthy recovery periods. Medications such as antihistamines, decongestants, and topical or systemic corticosteroids have limited patient and physician acceptance because of side effects, such as drowsiness, bleeding, drying, and crusting. In more severe cases, surface cautery of enlarged turbinates is performed as an out-patient procedure; however, side effects include edema and crusting in the nose that can last three weeks or longer. In such a scenario, Neurent Medical's single-use device presents exceptional value as it can be used in office settings, and patients can resume normal activity almost immediately after implantation. 

"Neurent Medical has based its rhinitis device on its extensive research on neuronal activity in the nasal cavity and the cellular makeup of the nasal mucosa. These guiding principles have enabled the product to stand out as a low-powered RF treatment that targets the autonomic supply to the nasal turbinates, positively impacting both allergic and non-allergic rhinitis," said Arjunvasun, Industry Analyst at Frost & Sullivan. "The device uses a microelectrode array that is designed to deliver targeted energy to interrupt the autonomic function within mucosal structures of the nasal cavities to reverse inflammatory cascade. The device incorporates an intelligent RF generator to maximize the energy delivery to the intended target, while minimizing collateral damage to the sub-mucosal tissues." 

Additionally, the device offers substantial cost savings by eliminating patients' dependence on pharmacotherapies and by requiring only a single out-patient procedure. 

"Although the application of RF to treat rhinitis has been evaluated through clinical studies, Neurent Medical has pioneered its application in treating inflammation caused by rhinitis," noted Arjunvasun. "Research conducted at the National University of Ireland, Galway supports the claim that Neurent Medical’s solution is truly a game-changing technology for allergy patients worldwide." 

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that has developed an innovative element in a product by leveraging leading-edge technologies. The award recognises the product’s value-added features/benefits and the increased return on investment (ROI) it provides to customers, which, in turn, raises customer acquisition and overall market penetration potential. 

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognise companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.   More information is available from the Frost & Sullivan website.