Spark Biomedical, a leading developer of wearable neurostimulation solutions, has partnered with AcuityMD, a commercial platform provider for medical technology companies, to accelerate Spark Biomedical’s expansion of a new and growing market for treatment of withdrawal associated with opioid use disorder. Spark Biomedical’s FDA-approved Sparrow Therapy System is a drug-free tool that includes a patient controller and earpiece that send mild electrical impulses to the brain to help alleviate opiate withdrawal symptoms.
AcuityMD’s data-driven targeting platform supports Spark Biomedical’s ambitious goals of providing a safe pathway to life-restoring sobriety to the millions of people suffering from opioid addiction.
Overdose deaths involving prescription opioids increased more than 20% in 2020, widely attributed to pandemic-related mental health issues. In addition, growth in drug use has caused overdose deaths from synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, which increased by more than 50% from 2019 to 2020. Spark Biomedical novel therapeutic aids detoxification with 84% of participants experiencing mild to no withdrawal symptoms within 60 minutes of therapy. And, after two days of treatment, 100% of patients sustained a clinically meaningful reduction in opioid withdrawal.
“In the treatment of substance abuse disorders, we need to address the entire continuum of care,” said Dan Wagner, Chief Commercial Officer for Spark Biomedical. “It starts with education and de-stigmatization, and continues to detoxification, therapy, and a lifetime of support. It is difficult to identify optimal channels for product adoption, so we are taking every effort to understand the treating physicians, therapists, rehab facilities, caregivers, and patients. AcuityMD’s targeting platform is the linchpin to this process, helping expand access and bring our device to more patients faster.”
The Sparrow Therapy System is already in use in more than two dozen rehabilitation facilities nationwide, but the company aspires to increase market penetration of its next-generation system with AcuityMD. Thousands of sales and marketing professionals from pre-commercial to enterprise medical device companies use AcuityMD’s commercial platform to improve targeting and planning, increase productivity, and accelerate patient access to innovative medical technology. AcuityMD’s most active users typically achieve a 25% increase in sales.
“Spark Biomedical is working tirelessly to help end the opioid epidemic in America, so we consider it very high praise to be chosen as their partner,” said Michael Monovoukas, CEO and co-founder of AcuityMD, which recently raised $31 million in Series A funding. “Since 2021, medical device companies have identified more than 40,000 new opportunities using our software, each one an opportunity to bring life-changing medical technology to more patients – the ultimate goal for both us and Spark Biomedical.”
“AcuityMD’s data-driven, intuitive platform is helping us turbo-charge our go-to-market efforts, so we can strategically get the right device in front of the right people at the right time,” concluded Spark Biomedical’s Dan Wagner. “And, given this country’s overdose rates, there’s no time to waste.”
Learn more about how Spark Biomedical is changing how substance abuse is treated with AcuityMD at the AdvaMed MedTech Conference 2022 (October 24-26, 2022) at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.