Back treatment boost for Mainstay

DUBLIN-BASED Mainstay Medical has successfully implanted a new device for treating chronic lower back pain for the first time in Ireland.

The implant of the ReActiv8 device was performed at St Joseph’s Hospital in Dublin by Dr Josh Keaveny and Dr Alexander Moudrakovski.

“ReActiv8 represents a novel approach to chronic low back pain which addresses the underlying cause of the condition,” Dr Keaveny said. “We now have a new option for treating patients who have suffered from debilitating back pain for years and who are not candidates for spine surgery and have attempted many other conventional therapies without adequate relief.”

ReActiv8 works by electrically stimulating the nerves responsible for contracting the key stabilising muscles of the lower back. Activation of these muscles has been shown to help recovery.

“We are building a network of reference sites in Europe, who can champion ReActiv8 and help expand the market,” said Mainstay CEO Peter Crosby.

“Ireland is our home market, and we are pleased to partner with Dr Keaveny and Dr Moudrakovski to establish a foothold in our second European market following the start of commercialisation in Germany.”

In annual accounts released in March, Mainstay warned it had incurred “significant operating losses” and that it may not be able to sustain profitability. It said development costs had risen to $16.8m (€15.5m) in 2016 and that its future financial performance was “substantially dependent on the commercial success of ReActiv8”.