Somna Therapeutics Grabs Early Reza Band sales, Eyes giant 2016
medical instrument firms spend a lot cash, time, and energy convincing the FDA to permit them to promote their products that it’s straightforward to overlook that’s just one step towards a successful business. the next step is getting customers.
Somna Therapeutics, a 3-year-previous startup in Germantown, WI, passed the primary hurdle in March. And it’s making development on the 2d, with promising traction within the first a few months of selling its Reza Band, a easy tool geared toward stopping acid reflux that affects the throat and lungs.
“The market reception for the product has been superb,” Somna co-founder and CEO Nick Maris says.
more than 275 doctors have prescribed the Reza Band, and greater than 1,000 of the units have been brought to sufferers. sales of the product, which prices $ 299, have been growing more than 25 p.c per 30 days thru September, although that percent has slowed some in recent weeks, Maris says.
The Reza Band is meant to fight laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR), a condition in which acid and other stomach contents are regurgitated again up the esophagus and into the throat and lungs. The reflux regularly happens whereas the person is dozing, and is essentially as a result of the a malfunctioning higher esophageal sphincter—the band of muscle groups at the prime of the esophagus that acts as a valve, tightening and relaxing to allow meals and drinks to cross via.
When acid escapes the esophagus, it could possibly cause scarring, consistent coughing, problems with swallowing, a hoarse voice, sleep interruptions, and the aggravation of prerequisites like bronchitis and bronchial asthma. in additional severe instances, it will possibly make contributions to the onset of throat most cancers. same old remedy options embrace dietary changes, sporting loose clothing, drowsing in an upright position to maintain acid from backing up into the throat, taking medicine to suppress gastric acid, and surgical procedure.
Somna’s software is a band worn around the neck that applies mild, targeted drive—roughly as a lot as it’s possible you’ll use to take someone’s pulse—just below the Adam’s apple. That force is enough to buttress the valve at the prime of the esophagus and lend a hand it forestall stomach contents from getting thru, Somna says. the unique know-how was once developed by Somna co-founder Reza Shaker, a gastroenterologist at the clinical college of Wisconsin.
Somna’s target purchaser is any individual suffering from “throat burn” who needs a substitute for pills and surgical operation, Maris says. the theory is to provide a more practical—and more cost effective—remedy that permits patients to sleep lying down.
That message has been resonating, Maris says. affected person satisfaction has closely mirrored the consequences considered in scientific research, with about 80 % reporting that the tool works and so they’re ok with it. “That’s a just right sign for us,” he says. “the criteria for acceptability go up whilst you pay for the product.”
greater than a hundred of the prescribing doctors have agreed to place their title and practice information on Somna’s web site, allowing possible customers to search for the closest doctor that might prescribe the device for them. that gives “validation of the credibility of the product, as increasingly physicians are actually willing to place their name at the back of the product and be advocates for the product,” Maris says. (these docs don’t receive any incentives from Somna for agreeing to be a part of its searchable database, he provides.)
“The science is established to be sound; our market receptivity is stable; we’re growing every month, each in revenue and physicians” prescribing the Reza Band, Maris continues. “We just need to inform extra folks sooner.”
because March, Somna has gone from five workers to fifteen, principally new sales representatives. in addition to pitching the Reza Band immediately to medical doctors, Somna has been spreading the phrase through digital merchandising, social media, radio spots, and attending trade conferences, Maris says.
“We balance between advertising to the physicians and marketing to customers,” Maris says.
Somna will likely add more employees, however Maris didn’t have a precise number. the company could searching for further dollars from buyers, relying on how a lot it wants to spend next 12 months on merchandising and hiring. Somna has raised about $ three.four million up to now.
the corporate’s big to-do gadgets for 2016: turning a profit and profitable Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement protection for the Reza Band. Maris expects the previous to occur late next 12 months. The latter is tricky to predict.
“like all new product in the hunt for repayment, it’s never a slam dunk,” Maris says. “It’s no longer a very easy thing to do. however it’s in all cases a recreation changer within the industry when you’re ready to achieve repayment.”
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