NHS Medical Director for Specialised Services Calls New Laser Technology for Epilepsy "Game-Changing Breakthrough"

Innovation Pharmaceuticals believes U.K. launch of MRgLITT for refractory focal epilepsy substantiates its investment in advanced laser technology of BT BeaMedical

WAKEFIELD, MA, Oct. 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- -- Innovation Pharmaceuticals (OTCQB: IPIX) (“the Company”), a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, is pleased to provide shareholders insight on a substantial industry development that is relevant to Innovation Pharmaceuticals’ investment in BT BeaMedical Technologies Ltd. (“BeaMed”).

On Saturday, October 22, 2022, the United Kingdom’s National Health System (NHS) announced the launch of a program to provide MR-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (MRgLITT) for children and adults with refractory focal epilepsy who haven’t responded to conventional drugs. The first surgeries are scheduled to take place early in 2023. The implications for introducing laser therapy for epilepsy were summed up by the NHS Medical Director for Specialised Services, characterizing the technology as a “game-changing breakthrough.”

Conventional neurosurgery for epilepsy is limited and invasive, translating to thousands of patients not qualifying for or electing the treatment, which involves a craniotomy and excision of the part of the brain causing seizures. Often, the problematic area is inaccessible, eliminating neurosurgery as a viable treatment option. For those able to undergo surgery, typical recovery includes a week in the hospital and three months of recovery at home, a period characterized by pain management and infection risk.

Fiber optic laser therapy offers a monumental improvement in epilepsy care. This requires making a hole approximately 1.5 millimeters (about the width of a grain of rice) in the skull, allowing clinicians to better target areas of the brain, reduce risks, and shrink recovery times for patients, typically down to less than a week.

BeaMed’s novel laser technology is similar in concept to the one being advanced in the U.K., but contains additional features designed to enhance, in real-time, control of energy distribution over an extended time to optimally treat epileptic focal points. Differentiation in BeaMed’s technology revolves around shaping of the energy such that it can treat the lesions better in terms of directionality and matching of the energy to the area while avoiding non-targeted structures, which can be critical in many cases up to the point of avoiding treatment because of the possible danger to nearby brain tissue.

If approved for epilepsy, BeaMed technology likely would increase the number of candidate patients since it is able to target larger areas of the brain. Increased volume of treatment in epilepsy has also been associated with improved outcomes.

The Company believes that the NHS news further substantiates its investment in BeaMed and the importance of novel laser therapy approaches, which we expect to become the next standard of care for epilepsy. BeaMed is at the forefront of the industry with its next-generation laser system that it hopes one day can be a safe and effective treatment option for the 70 million people worldwide suffering from the disease.

More information on BeaMed can be found on its company website and via a presentation by BeaMed management introducing the company, at the links below.

BeaMed company website: 

BeaMed management introduction to company:

Alerts 

Sign-up for Innovation Pharmaceuticals email alerts is available at: 

About Innovation Pharmaceuticals 

Innovation Pharmaceuticals Inc. (IPIX) is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing a portfolio of innovative therapies addressing multiple areas of unmet medical need, including inflammatory diseases, cancer, and infectious diseases. The Company is also active in evaluating other potential investment opportunities that can add value and diversify its portfolio.

Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 including, without limitation, statements concerning future product development plans, including with respect to specific indications; statements regarding the therapeutic potential and capabilities of the StingRay System; future regulatory developments; and any other statements which are other than statements of historical fact. These statements involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results and experience to differ materially from anticipated results and expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements. The Company has in some cases identified forward-looking statements by using words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “hopes,” “estimates,” “looks,” “expects,” “plans,” “intends,” “goal,” “potential,” “may,” “suggest,” and similar expressions. Among other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in forward-looking statements are risks related to conducting pre-clinical studies and clinical trials and seeking regulatory and licensing approvals in the United States and other jurisdictions, including without limitation that compounds and devices may not successfully complete pre-clinical or clinical testing, or be granted regulatory approval to be sold and marketed in the United States or elsewhere; prior test results may not be replicated in future studies and trials; the Company’s need for, and the availability of, substantial capital in the future to fund its operations and research and development, including the amount and timing of the sale of shares of common stock under securities purchase agreements; and the Company’s licensee(s) may not successfully complete pre-clinical or clinical testing and the Company will not receive milestone payments. A more complete description of these and other risk factors is included in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Many of these risks, uncertainties and assumptions are beyond the Company’s ability to control or predict. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the information currently available to the Company on the date they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly the results of any revisions to any such forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this press release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as required by applicable law or regulation.

INVESTOR AND MEDIA CONTACTS 

Innovation Pharmaceuticals Inc. 

Leo Ehrlich