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   SITE SERVICESBUSINESS WIRE   
   New Answers to Alzheimer's May Be Found in Minimally Invasive Sinus Cavity   
   Device   
   Patented neuromodulation system shows great promise of delivering highly   
   effective outpatient treatment at very low costs to improve livability for   
   those with Alzheimer's   
      
   August 5, 2014   
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   ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Sometimes the best answer is right under your nose. A   
   promising new investigational technology, first envisioned 20 years ago by a   
   Nobel-nominated medical researcher and now advanced by a Minnesota device   
   company intent on    
   commercializing accessible, cost-effective solutions, is catching the   
   attention of the fast-growing Alzheimer's disease advocacy community. The   
   approach of Wedge Therapeutics: use a simple nose catheter to target nerve   
   trunks and stimulate the brain    
   structures that control memory and cognition.   
      
   The patented technology -- called SONS -- will be delivered in a simple   
   outpatient procedure that applies small, adjustable and targeted electrical   
   impulses through the nasal cavity to access up to 32 distinct nerve trunks   
   that stimulate the brain. The    
   unique approach has the opportunity to be a low-risk yet highly effective and   
   widely accessible option for addressing various Central Nervous System (CNS)   
   diseases including Alzheimer's.   
      
      
   The SONS technology -- or Sphenoid and Olfactory Nerve Stimulation System --   
   may well become a household name someday, thanks to Wedge Therapeutics, which   
   is currently shepherding the technology through the lengthy FDA regulatory   
   process.   
      
   "I hear from scores of Alzheimer's families, and it breaks my heart because I   
   am one of them," says Wedge Therapeutics President and CEO, Bob Wieden, whose   
   company acquired the overlooked patents for the technology in 2013, and whose   
   family has been    
   directly affected by the disease. "We believe this technology will make a   
   world of difference quickly because it targets a region of the brain that   
   provides nerve access that controls memory and cognition and does so in a   
   relatively low-tech but highly    
   effective manner. It's exactly what families are looking for."   
      
   "SONS can be thought of as a new kind of deep brain stimulation but for the   
   first time it is being done outside the brain - which would be a huge   
   advance," said Dr. Jessica Shantha, who specializes in ophthalmology at Emory   
   University Hospitals and has    
   researched SONS. "The goal is to administer deep brain stimulation in a   
   minimally invasive and reversible fashion that large patient populations can   
   embrace, instead of being afraid of the risk of brain surgery and its   
   complications."   
      
      
   The SONS technology addresses neurological diseases, where treatment has been   
   dominated by pharmaceutical approaches that have invested billions of dollars,   
   but yielded little in terms of meaningful results -- perhaps at the expense of   
   simpler,    
   technology-based approaches. Over the past decade, Deep Brain Stimulation   
   (DBS) has been commercialized as an effective treatment option for some   
   neurological diseases, especially Parkinson's. But the implanted devices   
   require complicated and risky brain    
   surgery, costing upwards of $120,000, and in most countries, it is not covered   
   by insurance. The empirical question that has to be asked is whether it's a   
   lasting therapy if it's something that most people in the world, even in   
   developed nations, cannot    
   afford.   
      
   "There are 44 million people in the world estimated to be living with   
   Alzheimer's, and the direct costs of this disease are projected to be more   
   than $1.2 trillion by 2050 in the U.S., alone," said Wieden. "For families   
   currently coping with    
   neurodegenerative conditions, we hope to offer a meaningful and manageable   
   device treatment in the near future."   
      
   Bringing new medical technologies to market is an expensive proposition for   
   any company, and to expedite the regulatory and commercialization of SONS for   
   the vast Alzheimer's community, it is currently looking to raise additional   
   investment and to forge    
   industry partnerships.   
      
   SONS may be the "why didn't I think of that?" medical solution of the next   
   decade that Alzheimer's families help shake loose from those who embrace   
   expensive pharma-based and overly complex invasive solutions. And in the   
   process, force conventional    
   wisdom to no longer look down their noses at all the available options.   
      
   About Wedge Therapeutics   
      
   Wedge Therapeutics is a privately held medical device development company   
   based in St. Paul, Minn. that is developing technology that targets the   
   treatment of neurodegenerative diseases. For more information on Wedge   
   Therapeutics and to watch a video    
   about the SONS System, please visit its website at www.wedgetherapeutics.com   
   or call (651) 688-7754.   
      
      
      
      
      
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