InteliSpark client Zenflow, Inc. has won a $636,601 contract with the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for the Direct to Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) project, " Spring System for Permanent Relief of Urinary Obstruction Related to Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia”.
Urinary retention, frequency, and urgency related to benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) represent an unmet clinical need for many millions of men in the US. Medications can be expensive, have side effects like loss of libido, and prove ineffective in 30-43% of patients. Surgery is effective, but can result in post-operative pain and carries a high risk of permanent sexual side effects such as retrograde ejaculation and erectile dysfunction. A number of shortcomings have prevented minimally invasive attempts from attaining widespread adoption. Mechanical devices have failed due to difficult placement, migration, and encrustation caused by urine exposure, whereas energy therapies have failed to achieve durable results.
Zenflow has developed the Spring System to provide a superior minimally invasive and permanent solution for men who experience inadequate relief or side effects from drugs, but decline to undergo invasive surgical procedures such as transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP). Unlike other minimally invasive attempts, the Spring nitinol implant is delivered through a flexible cystoscope in an easy, ten-minute office procedure that does not damage tissue. With uniquely low COGS of less than $200, the Spring will also substantially reduce costs to the healthcare system substantially over all existing treatment options.
After refining the placement procedure in early studies, we have verified that the Spring implant can be placed accurately and reliably by a trained urologist.