ST. PAUL, Minn., May 18, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- EnteroMedics Inc.
(NASDAQ:ETRM), the developer of medical devices using neuroblocking
technology to treat obesity, metabolic diseases and other
gastrointestinal disorders, today announced that the McGuire
Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Richmond VAMC) in Richmond, VA successfully completed its first
implant of the Company's vBloc® Neurometabolic Therapy.
The surgery was performed earlier this week by James Maher, MD.
"Obesity and its comorbidities must be addressed in order to
live a healthier and fuller life," said Dr. Maher. "Providing the
best medical options to combat morbid obesity to the men and women
who have served our country is a top priority and with vBloc
Therapy available at the Richmond VAMC, we are now able to provide
a safe and effective alternative to invasive, anatomy-altering and
restricting procedures. There are well over one million veterans
with obesity and the Richmond VAMC is committed to helping those in
our communities succeed in their fight against obesity."
The vBloc System works to control sensations of hunger
using a pacemaker-like device that is implanted under the skin
during a safe, minimally-invasive procedure that does not alter or
remove any patient anatomy. The device can be adjusted to optimize
patients' therapy needs and works to give the patient a sensation
of fullness, empowering them to eat less, control their appetite,
and lose weight. Studies have shown that vBloc Therapy
produces meaningful weight loss in patients as well as meaningful
improvements in related comorbidity factors, such as HbA1c, without
the major lifestyle implications of traditional weight loss
surgeries.
"One in ten Virginians is a veteran and the State has the
fastest growing veterans' population in the Nation," said
Dan Gladney,
EnteroMedics President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman
of the Board. "With our first implant at the Richmond VAMC, we are
making vBloc accessible to an even larger portion of the men and
women who have served our country selflessly and are in need of
solutions to address their obesity. Through our previously
announced partnership with Academy Medical, eligible veterans are
able to receive vBloc Therapy at little to no cost. We look forward
to working with other VA medical centers and VA Choice facilities
so they can offer this state-of-the art weight loss treatment."
vBloc Therapy is approved for use in helping with weight loss in
people aged 18 years and older who are obese, with a BMI of 40 to
45 kg/m2, or a BMI of 35 to 39.9 kg/m2 with a
related health condition such as Type 2 diabetes, high blood
pressure, high cholesterol levels or obstructive sleep apnea who
have had a poor response to trying to lose weight under supervision
in the last 5 years.
About McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center
The McGuire Veterans Affairs Medical Center is home to the
latest and most sophisticated medical equipment and facilities for
health care delivery for our Nation's Heroes. Last year, the
medical center served nearly 60,000 veterans and active duty
service members with more than 700,000 visits. Over 80% of the
medical center's research has a direct impact on patient care
studies in the VA system and in the community. The medical center
also provides outpatient services through the Fredericksburg, Emporia, and Charlottesville VA Community
Based Outpatient Clinics.
About EnteroMedics Inc.
EnteroMedics is a medical device company focused on the
development and commercialization of its neuroscience based
technology to treat obesity and metabolic diseases.
vBloc® Neurometabolic Therapy, delivered by a
pacemaker-like device called the vBloc® System, is
designed to intermittently block the vagus nerves using
high-frequency, low-energy, electrical
impulses. EnteroMedics' vBloc® System has
received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval and
CE Mark.
Information about the vBloc® System and
vBloc® Neurometabolic Therapy
You should not have an implanted vBloc® System
if you have cirrhosis of the liver, high blood pressure in the
veins of the liver, enlarged veins in your esophagus or a
significant hiatal hernia of the stomach; if you need magnetic
resonance imaging (MRI); if you have a permanently implanted,
electrical medical device; or if you need a diathermy procedure
using heat. The most common related adverse events that were
experienced during clinical study of the vBloc System included
pain, heartburn, nausea, difficulty swallowing, belching, wound
redness or irritation, and constipation.
Talk with your doctor about the full risks and benefits of vBloc
Therapy and vBloc System. For additional prescribing information,
please visit www.enteromedics.com.
If you are interested in learning more about vBloc
Neurometabolic Therapy, please visit www.vbloc.com or call
1-800-MY-VBLOC.
Forward-Looking Safe Harbor Statement:
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified
by the use of words such as "expect," "plan," "anticipate,"
"could," "may," "intend," "will," "continue," "future," other words
of similar meaning and the use of future dates.
Forward-looking statements in this release include the possibility
of a larger number of veterans accessing the
vBloc® System and the Company's desire to work with
other VA medical centers and VA Choice facilities. These
forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations of
our management and involve known and unknown risks and
uncertainties that may cause our actual results, performance or
achievements to be materially different from any future results,
performance or achievements expressed or implied by the
forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include,
among others: our limited history of operations; our losses
since inception and for the foreseeable future; our limited
commercial sales experience with our vBloc® System for
the treatment of obesity in the United
States or in any foreign market other than Australia and the European Community; the
competitive industry in which we operate; our ability to maintain
compliance with the Nasdaq continued listing requirements; our
ability to commercialize our vBloc® System; our
dependence on third parties to initiate and perform our clinical
trials; the need to obtain regulatory approval for any
modifications to our vBloc® System; physician adoption
of our vBloc® System and vBloc®
Neurometabolic Therapy; our ability to obtain third party coding,
coverage or payment levels; ongoing regulatory compliance; our
dependence on third party manufacturers and suppliers; the
successful development of our sales and marketing capabilities; our
ability to raise additional capital when needed; international
commercialization and operation; our ability to attract and retain
management and other personnel and to manage our growth
effectively; potential product liability claims; the cost and
management time of operating a public company; potential healthcare
fraud and abuse claims; healthcare legislative reform; and our
ability to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection for
our technology and products. These and additional risks and
uncertainties are described more fully in the Company's filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission, particularly those
factors identified as "risk factors" in the annual report on Form
10-K filed March 8, 2017 and
quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed May 15,
2017. We are providing this information as of the date of
this press release and do not undertake any obligation to update
any forward-looking statements contained in this document as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise.
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SOURCE EnteroMedics Inc.