MRI Interventions, Clinical Laserthermia Systems Collaborate on Laser Ablation Platforms

MRI Interventions Inc. and Clinical Laserthermia Systems AB have entered into a collaborative license and co-development agreement to provide next-generation navigation and precision laser ablation platforms for use in spine and neurosurgery. Under the terms of the agreement, CLS will provide an exclusive worldwide license to current and future products and IP to MRI Interventions and will act as the exclusive manufacturer of those products. CLS will retain the rights for all fields outside of neurosurgery and spine.
 
“This agreement is a truly exciting step towards execution of our growth strategy,” commented Joe Burnett, president and CEO of MRI Interventions. “Historically we have been the company that helps deliver other company’s therapeutic products to deep structures of the brain in the most precise manner possible. Now we have the opportunity to deliver our own therapies, which will improve efficiency, workflow and procedure times for our hospital customers, and expand revenue and per-procedure profitability for our investors. Now in partnership with CLS, we can truly be a leader in the movement toward minimally-invasive neurosurgery because we can offer both navigation and laser ablation therapy, all under the watchful eye of a single clinical specialist to help support the procedure. The objective is to offer a platform that provides accuracy and workflow advantages to our customers and meets our requirements of being able to do multiple procedures in the same day. We estimate a formal launch of this combined platform during 2020.”

CLS’ technology is the core in the TRANBERG | Thermal Therapy System, a laser system with U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 510(k) clearance for soft tissue ablation and in Europe (CE mark) for soft tissue ablation and immunostimulatory interstitial laser thermotherapy (imILT). The TRANBERG |Thermal Therapy System has not yet received market clearance for immune stimulating interstitial laser thermotherapy (imILT) by the FDA in the United States.
 
“We are delighted to find a partner to bring our advanced laser ablation platform to the neurosurgery space,” said Lars-Erik Eriksson, CEO of CLS. “The agreement covers our existing products as well as our new software product that will be developed in collaboration with our partner Image Guided Therapy, and that allows MR-guided temperature measurement and control during the laser ablation procedure. The neurosurgery market is an incredibly challenging market to enter and build from the ground up. We are thrilled to be able to find a partner in MRI that already has years of experience in the space, a large and growing installed base at some of the most prestigious neurosurgery centers in the U.S. They also have a team of clinical specialists already participating in the guidance of these laser surgeries today, that I see will bring great value to this collaboration.”
 
Building on the power of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), MRI Interventions is creating platforms for performing the next generation of minimally invasive surgical procedures in the brain. The ClearPoint Neuro Navigation System, which has received FDA 510(k) clearance and is CE marked, utilizes a hospital’s existing diagnostic or intraoperative MRI suite to enable a range of minimally invasive procedures in the brain.
 
Clinical Laserthermia Systems AB (publ), develops and sells the TRANBERG | Thermal Therapy System and specially-designed sterile disposable products for safe, gentle treatment of cancerous tumors. The products are marketed for image-guided laser ablation and for treatment with immuno-stimulating interstitial laser thermotherapy, imILT. The company, which is headquartered in Lund, Sweden, and has a subsidiary in Boston, Mass., is listed Nasdaq First North under the ticker CLS B. Certified adviser is Västra Hamnen Corporate Finance.