Helius Medical Technologies, Inc. (Nasdaq:HSDT) (“Helius” or the
“Company”), a neurotech company focused on neurological wellness,
today announced the addition of Shepherd Center in Atlanta, Georgia
to its Therapeutic Experience Program (“TEP”). This initiative will
be led by Deborah Backus, PT, Ph.D., FACRM, Vice President of
Research and Innovation and Director of Multiple Sclerosis Research
at the Virginia C. Crawford Research Institute at Shepherd Center.
Shepherd Center joins NYU Langone Health as the second Center of
Excellence in this company-sponsored open-label observational trial
designed to evaluate the impact of subjects’ adherence to Portable
Neuromodulation Stimulator (PoNS) therapy in patients with multiple
sclerosis (MS).
“Our Therapeutic Experience Program enables
clinicians to evaluate the effectiveness of PoNS therapy for MS
patients with gait deficit in a real-world environment while
providing important information about PoNS therapy to key opinion
leaders in MS management,” said Antonella Favit-Van Pelt, M.D.,
Ph.D., Helius' Chief Medical Officer. “The Virginia C. Crawford
Research Institute at Shepherd Center is an important partner to
TEP, and we are thrilled with Dr. Backus’s contribution to our
efforts of bringing innovative therapies to people with MS.
Shepherd Center is one of the top ten rehabilitation hospitals in
the United States with a world-renowned Multiple Sclerosis
Institute and integrated research program, and we look forward to a
long-standing collaboration.”
“Shepherd Center is dedicated to improving the
function, health, and quality of life in all people with MS, and we
are excited to partner with Helius on this important study,” said
Dr. Deborah Backus. “People with MS often have decreased mobility,
leading to more disability and less participation in daily life
activities. We believe PoNS therapy can be an effective therapeutic
option for our patients.”
About Shepherd Center
Shepherd Center, located in Atlanta, Georgia, is
a private, not-for-profit hospital specializing in medical
treatment, research and rehabilitation for people with spinal cord
injury, brain injury, multiple sclerosis, spine and chronic pain,
and other neuromuscular conditions. Founded in 1975, Shepherd
Center is ranked by U.S. News & World Report among the top 10
rehabilitation hospitals in the nation. In its more than four
decades, Shepherd Center has grown from a six-bed rehabilitation
unit to a world-renowned, 152-bed hospital that treats more than
740 inpatients, nearly 280 day program patients and more than 7,100
outpatients each year in more than 46,000 visits.
About the Therapeutic Experience
Program
The Therapeutic Experience Program (“TEP”) is a
Helius-sponsored, open label observational, interventional
multi-center outcome research trial designed to assess adherence to
on-label PoNS therapy for improvement in gait deficits for patients
with multiple sclerosis (“MS”) in a real-world clinical setting.
The study will rate subjects’ adherence to PoNS therapy, which
combines the PoNS device with physical therapy, to better
understand the relationship between adherence to the treatment
regimen and therapeutic functional outcome. The primary endpoint of
the study is maintenance of gait improvement from the end of
supervised therapy (Phase 1) to the end of unsupervised therapy
(Phase 2) in relation to the subject’s adherence to PoNS therapy.
The secondary endpoint is improvement of gait and balance deficit
over time and clinical global impression of change.
The study will be conducted at ten to twelve
Centers of Excellence across the United States, with an estimated
four PoNS devices per site. Enrollment is expected to begin in the
second quarter of 2022 and continue through late 2022. A total of
forty to fifty subjects with MS are expected to take part in the
program.
About Helius Medical Technologies,
Inc.
Helius Medical Technologies is a leading
neurotech company in the medical device field focused on neurologic
deficits using non-implantable platform technologies that amplify
the brain’s ability to compensate and promotes neuroplasticity,
aiming to improve the lives of people dealing with neurologic
diseases. The Company’s product is the Portable Neuromodulation
Stimulator (PoNS). For more information, visit
www.heliusmedical.com.
About the PoNS Device and PoNS
Therapy
The Portable Neuromodulation Stimulator (PoNS)
is an innovative non-surgical medical device, inclusive of a
controller and mouthpiece, which delivers electrical stimulation to
the surface of the tongue to improve balance and gait. The PoNS
device is indicated for use in the United States as a short-term
treatment of gait deficit due to mild-to-moderate symptoms from
multiple sclerosis (“MS”) and is to be used as an adjunct to a
supervised therapeutic exercise program in patients 22 years of age
and over by prescription only. Helius is advancing PoNS
post-approval research in MS through a recently launched
Therapeutic Experience Program (TEP) designed to partner with
neurologists and neurorehabilitation therapists at 10-12 US centers
of excellence, who express an interest in becoming “early adopters”
of PoNS therapy.
PoNS is also authorized for sale in Canada for
two indications: (i) for use as a short-term treatment (14 weeks)
of chronic balance deficit due to mild-to-moderate traumatic brain
injury (“mmTBI”) and is to be used in conjunction with physical
therapy; and (ii) for use as a short term treatment (14 weeks) of
gait deficit due to mild and moderate symptoms from MS and is to be
used in conjunction with physical therapy. PoNS is also authorized
for sale in Australia for short term use by healthcare
professionals as an adjunct to a therapeutic exercise program to
improve balance and gait.
Cautionary Disclaimer Statement
Certain statements in this news release are not based on
historical facts and constitute forward-looking statements or
forward-looking information within the meaning of the U.S. Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Canadian securities
laws. All statements other than statements of historical fact
included in this news release are forward-looking statements that
involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are
often identified by terms such as “believe,” “expect,” “continue,”
“will,” “goal,” “aim” and similar expressions. Such forward-looking
statements include, among others, statements regarding expected
enrollment, patient participation, the results and other details of
the TEP study, and the Company’s collaboration with Shepherd
Center.
There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be
accurate and actual results and future events could differ
materially from those expressed or implied by such statements.
Important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from the Company’s expectations include uncertainties
associated with the Company’s capital requirements to achieve its
business objectives and ability to raise capital, the impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic, the Company’s ability to train physical
therapists in the supervision of the use of the PoNS Treatment, the
Company’s ability to secure contracts with rehabilitation clinics,
the Company’s ability to obtain national Medicare coverage and to
obtain a reimbursement code so that the PoNS device is covered by
Medicare and Medicaid, the Company’s ability to build internal
commercial infrastructure, secure state distribution licenses,
build a commercial team and build relationships with Key Opinion
Leaders, neurology experts and neurorehabilitation centers, market
awareness of the PoNS device, future clinical trials and the
clinical development process, manufacturing and supply chain risks,
the product development process and FDA regulatory submission
review and approval process, other development activities, ongoing
government regulation, and other risks detailed from time to time
in the “Risk Factors” section of the Company’s Annual Report on
Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, its Quarterly
Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2022, and its
other filings with the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission and the Canadian securities regulators, which can be
obtained from either at www.sec.gov or www.sedar.com.
The reader is cautioned not to place undue
reliance on any forward-looking statement. The forward-looking
statements contained in this news release are made as of the date
of this news release and the Company assumes no obligation to
update any forward-looking statement or to update the reasons why
actual results could differ from such statements except to the
extent required by law.
Investor Relations Contact
Lisa M. Wilson, In-Site Communications, Inc.T:
212-452-2793E: lwilson@insitecony.com
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