Bringing Hope to Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) Patients with the Alcyone Lifesciences ThecaFlex DRx™ System Breakthrough Device

LOWELL, Mass., Dec 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Alcyone Lifesciences, Inc., a biotechnology company dedicated to precision administered genetic therapies to treat complex neurological and oncological conditions through the company's proprietary advanced precision delivery platforms, looks forward to attending the 9th Annual CureSMA Gala "Hope on the Hill" Congressional Dinner, Tuesday, December 3, 2019 on Capitol Hill in Washington D.C.

"We are proud to be a CureSMA and Hope on the Hill sponsor this year.  We have been working even more diligently with the SMA medical community since receiving US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Breakthrough Device designation in March of this year for our ThecaFlex DRx System in order to expedite its introduction into the clinic in early 2020," remarked PJ Anand, Chief Executive Officer of Alcyone Lifesciences. 

Brian Snyder, MD, PhD, Orthopedic Surgeon, Boston Children's Hospital and Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, Harvard Medical School and CureSMA Board Member added, "Hope on the Hill is a premier event for the SMA community, allowing patient families, government officials, researchers and industry to come together to celebrate the incredible advances for treating SMA over the past five years and to advocate for the continued investigation of breakthrough treatments for SMA patients of all ages, levels of involvement and disability."

By facilitating intrathecal (spinal canal) access for patients whose lumbar puncture would be complicated by severe spinal deformity and/or spinal fusion (complex spine), the ThecaFlex DRx System is a therapy-enabling technology designed to provide safer, more effective intrathecal access to patients afflicted by debilitating neurodegenerative diseases such as SMA who require chronic bolus intrathecal administration of antisense oligonucleotides and/or gene therapy. To safely enter the intrathecal space via lumbar puncture (LP), these patients often require repeat anesthesia and radiographic imaging with chronic serial exposures that have been associated with deleterious side effects.

"SMA patients deserve much better alternatives for chronic intrathecal therapy delivery than repeat LP.  In younger patients, ages two to 15 years old with normal spines, LP usually requires anesthesia. In SMA patients with complex spine anatomies, physicians have resorted to adapting components and devices intended for other applications in order to provide life-saving therapy. With guidance from our investigators and the US FDA, we are working toward an optimized intrathecal delivery system for these vulnerable patients," said Elsa Abruzzo, Vice President of Regulatory, Clinical, and Quality Affairs of Alcyone Lifesciences.

Alcyone Lifesciences has partnered with leading rare and orphan disease therapy innovators to develop precision drug delivery platforms, minimally invasive procedures and best-in-class infusion technologies for the administration of antisense oligonucleotides, gene therapies and chemotherapeutics for treating neurodegenerative diseases and CNS malignancies.  The company's mission is to combine expertise in cerebral spinal fluid dynamics, engineering and human factors to help scientists, clinicians, government officials and affected families utilize and benefit from emerging therapeutics for CNS pathologies. Alcyone has been inspired by the enduring commitment of researchers to improve the lives of patients stricken by debilitating neurological diseases like SMA by working hard to find a cure.

About Alcyone Lifesciences, Inc.
Alcyone Lifesciences, based in Lowell, Massachusetts, is a privately-held therapeutic device company and a leader in transforming disease modifying therapies for rare and orphan disorders through Advanced Precision Delivery Platforms.  For more information, please visit www.alcyonels.com

Contact
Alcyone Life Sciences, Inc.
PJ Anand
Chief Executive Officer
978-709-1946
[email protected]

SOURCE Alcyone Lifesciences, Inc.

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