Brainsway Ltd. (TASE:BRIN) yesterday reported successes in two clinical trials of its non-invasive Deep TMS (transcanial magnetic stimulation) treatment for chronic pain in diabetics and aphasia, an impairment of language ability.
Today, the company also announced that the ethics committee of the US Department of Veterans Affairs has approved a clinical trial of Deep TMS for the treatment of obesity, which will be conducted by the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System. The trial will begin in the fourth quarter, and the Veterans Administration will fully finance it.
Brainsway reported successful final results in the trial on diabetic chronic neuropathic pain. The trial covered 33 patients, each of whom randomly received a series of treatments with the Deep TMS over five days and a series of placebo treatments over the same period, 45 days apart. Treatment with Deep TMS showed clear improvement in neurophysiological measures of pain, and the improvement was even greater four weeks after the end of the treatment. No such results were seen after the placebo treatments.
The trial was conducted by Advanced Technologies Innovation Distribution SRL in Italy.
Brainsway CEO Uzi Soffer said, "These results are important for increasing awareness and adoption of the Deep TMS technology among Italian opinion-setters, and are a commercial pilot for us. I assume that these results will enable us to add another indication for EU CE Mark certification."
Brainsway reported preliminary positive results in the trial of Deep TMS for the treatment of aphasia, which was also conducted by Advanced Technologies Innovation Distribution. The patient received three cycles of treatment of five days each, seven days apart. Two of the cycles of treatment were real; the third was a placebo.
Brainsway said the results, as measured by accepted neuropsychological tests at the end of each treatment cycle and again seven days after the third cycle, as well as MRI scans before and after each cycle, showed significant improvement in the patient's ability to talk and write following the real treatments. No such improvement was seen after the placebo cycle.
The chief researcher said that the results were preliminary, but encouraging, for the potential use of Deep TMS for the treatment of aphasia.
Brainsway's share price rose 4.2% by early afternoon today to NIS 27.71, giving a market cap of NIS 315 million.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on June 27, 2011
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