Nihon Kohden to take Cyberonics tech to Japan
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
Cyberonics has signed up Nihon Kohden as the exclusive distributor of its vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) therapy systems to epilepsy patients in Japan. Houston, Texas-based Cyberonics is currently working alongside Nihon Kohden to obtain the necessary Japanese regulatory and reimbursement approvals for the technology. Nihon Kohden (Tokyo, Japan) said that the deal boosted its existing portfolio of products in the epilepsy market, such as electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring systems. Financial details of the deal were not revealed. The FDA-approved VNS system is a non-drug option, designed to treat refractory epilepsy with the use of pulsed electrical signals to the vagus nerve. The device has also been approved for treating treatment-resistant depression. However, the firm was unable to secure financial backing for additional clinical trials that were requested by the FDA in order to evaluate the long term efficacy of the product.