Symple Surgical Partners to Advance Hypertension Therapy Called Microwave Ablation

Symple Surgical (SSI), a start-up medical device company, announced that it has entered into a development agreement with a confidential partner to advance its microwave ablation technology, for the treatment of hypertension and potentially other conditions, including pulmonary hypertension.

The unnamed partner, it said in a press release, has with a long-standing market leadership position in endovascular device therapies. The two companies, specifically, will continue with preclinical testing of SSI’s DirectAblate device platform.

SSI is a focused on developing therapeutic technologies through controlled microwave ablation, a procedure in which microwave thermal energy is delivered directly to the area of overactive sympathetic nerves, minimizing thermal exposure to non-targeted tissue.

The technology was initially developed as a therapy for hypertension symptoms through renal sympathetic denervation, a minimally invasive, endovascular catheter-based procedure using radiofrequency or ultrasound ablation aimed at treating resistant hypertension (high blood pressure not controlled by medication). Renal denervation has proven to be a safe and effective way to treat uncontrolled hypertension through a one-time, minimally invasive vascular procedure.

“We are very confident in the novel microwave ablation technology that has been developed at SSI … [and] place enormous value on this strategic development partnership, which should rapidly advance our platform to achieve human clinical evidence,” said Daniel J. Kasprzyk, president & CEO. “SSI has remained steadfast in our pursuit of next generation ablation technology to provide controlled circumferential ablation, thermal depth control, intimal/media vessel protection, and novel procedural ablation feedback all built into a single device. The DirectAblate™ and InSite™ Renal Denervation Technologies will provide the market with the next generation solution.”

According to the company, several clinical trials in the U.S., E.U., and Asia are moving the field of sympathetic nerve modulation forward.

“Hypertension is a worldwide medical and economic burden. Renal Sympathetic Denervation is a unique therapy that has demonstrated benefits in patients that are not well treated with medical therapy alone,” said Dr. Gary M. Ansel, MD, FACC. “ The ‘SSI’ microwave system is evaluating a unique energy source in an effort to improve safety and efficacy to the normal vessel wall while providing a high level of success in controlling hypertension. I am excited to evaluate the clinical potential of this unique approach.”