Relievant Medsystems Announces Pooled Three-Year Outcomes from Intracept Procedure that Demonstrate Long-Term Pain Relief and Reduced Opioid Use in Chronic Vertebrogenic Low Back Pain Patients

MINNEAPOLIS, June 15, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Relievant Medsystems, a company dedicated to transforming the diagnosis and treatment of vertebrogenic low back pain, today announced the publication of three-year pooled results from two prospective clinical trials that further validate the safety, effectiveness and long-term durability of the Intracept^® Procedure for patients with vertebrogenic pain. The study was published in Interventional Pain Medicine, an open access journal by the Spine Intervention Society (SIS). Results are consistent with previously published long-term results that measured Intracept Procedure outcomes at five years.

The study includes 95 patients across 22 study sites who were successfully treated with the Intracept Procedure and completed three-year study visits. These patients achieved statistically significant, clinically meaningful and durable improvements in both pain and function.

At three years post-Intracept Procedure, statistically significant (p<0.0001) improvements of 31.2 points and 4.3 points were observed compared to baseline, for mean Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) and mean numeric pain score (NPS), respectively. The study also found that 74% fewer patients were actively using opioid medications for low back pain and 84% fewer patients required spinal injections for the same pain source and treatment level at three years following treatment.

“These aggregated three-year results demonstrate the sustained effectiveness of basivertebral nerve ablation in improving patients’ pain, productivity and quality of life while decreasing their healthcare utilization,” said Matthew Smuck, MD, Chief of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Professor of Orthopaedic Surgery at Stanford University and lead author of the study. “The data also demonstrate that vertebrogenic pain is a distinct source of anterior column low back pain that is identified using an objective imaging biomarker. The exciting thing about this is that many patients with this diagnosis were previously misdiagnosed with discogenic back pain, a condition with no reliable treatments currently, and they can now be effectively treated when correctly diagnosed with vertebrogenic pain.”

Relievant Medsystems’ minimally invasive Intracept Procedure is the only FDA-cleared treatment for chronic vertebrogenic low back pain. The same-day, outpatient procedure uses targeted radiofrequency energy to stop the basivertebral nerve (BVN) from transmitting pain signals to the brain and takes approximately one hour to perform.

“We are encouraged to see positive outcomes consistent with results from multiple clinical trials, including two Level I randomized controlled trials, that demonstrate the long-term durability of the Intracept Procedure,” said Tyler Binney, President and CEO of Relievant Medsystems. “These outcomes represent improved quality of life for patients and we are committed to continuing to provide vertebrogenic pain relief to the millions of individuals with this often debilitating condition.”

Other key findings at three years post-procedure include:

• 26.3% of patients reported being 100% pain-free
• 71% of patients indicated they had returned to the level of activity they enjoyed prior to experiencing chronic low back pain
• 86% of patients indicated they would have the procedure again for the same condition
• No serious device or device-procedure related adverse events were reported, highlighting the safety of this procedure

About Vertebrogenic Pain
Of the 30 million people in the U.S. with chronic low back pain, 1 in 6 are likely to have vertebrogenic pain, a distinct type of chronic low back pain caused by damage to vertebral endplates, the interface between the disc and the vertebral body. Patients typically have pain in the middle of their low back, which worsens when they bend over, sit for long periods of time, or when they are active. A physician can confirm a patient’s pain is vertebrogenic by observing Modic changes, a biomarker seen on standard MRI that indicates inflammation at the vertebral endplate.

About Relievant Medsystems
Relievant Medsystems is a commercial-stage medical device company transforming the diagnosis and treatment of vertebrogenic pain, a form of Chronic Low Back Pain (CLBP), with the Intracept Procedure – a novel, clinically proven and commercially available treatment designed to improve the quality of life for millions of indicated patients. For more information about Relievant Medsystems and the Intracept Procedure, visit www.relievant.com.

Media Contact:
Shelli Lissick, Bellmont Partners
(651) 276-6922 | shelli@bellmontpartners.com

Investor Contact:
Marissa Bych, Gilmartin Group
(805) 305-1244 | marissa@gilmartinir.com