SPR Therapeutics has reported positive long-term data for its SPRINT PNS pain management system, as well as primary endpoint results in a trial for patients with head pain.

The US company unveiled five abstracts at the American Society of Pain & Neuroscience (ASPN) Annual Conference in Miami, held from 11-14 July.

At the top of the agenda was four-year follow up data from a multicentre study evaluating the SPRINT PNS system in patients with chronic axial back pain. Out of the 22 patients who received 60-day medial branch nerve stimulation with the device, 15 reported clinically significant pain relief.

The study’s lead author Dr. Christopher Gilmore said: “The long-lasting results we are seeing from SPRINT PNS participants over four years out from the end of treatment is truly impressive and makes a strong case for 60-day PNS as it is a short-term treatment that can deliver significant, sustained relief according to these data.”

SPR Therapeutics’ device uses a percutaneous peripheral nervous system (PNS) approach, which involves stimulating peripheral nerves in the region of pain. Electrical pulses are delivered to the nerves via thin leads under the skin which alter the transmission of pain signals to the brain.

The technology is already US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved for the symptomatic relief of chronic, intractable pain, post-surgical and post-traumatic pain, in addition to postoperative pain.

Also presented by the company were primary endpoint results from the MONARCH study, a prospective trial evaluating 60-day peripheral nerve stimulation that targets the occipital nerves for patients experiencing headache pain.  Eighty-five percent of participants, 17 out 20, reported greater than or equal to 50% reductions in pain measures.

SPR Therapeutics also reported positive results in shoulder pain and complex regional pain syndrome.

In May2024, the company stated that its SPRINT PNS system reduced pain in patients experiencing postoperative pain after total knee replacement surgery.

Founded in 2010, SPR Therapeutics secured $85m in financing earlier this year, including $25m in Series D-1 insider equity and a $60m debt facility.

Neuromodulation devices are becoming a major sector within healthcare as technology becomes less invasive and more accessible. A report by GlobalData estimates that the global neuromodulation device market will be worth $11.4bn by 2033, up from $6bn in 2022.

Also in the pain-relief space is US-based Nalu Medical, which reported positive results from its neurostimulation system trial for shoulder, lower back, and knee pain, among others. After 12 months, 87% of subjects using the Nalu system achieved more than 50% pain relief, with a 73% average pain reduction.