SOLANA BEACH, Calif. and SALT LAKE CITY, July 21, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ClearPoint Neuro, Inc. (Nasdaq: CLPT) (the “Company”), a global therapy-enabling platform company providing navigation and delivery to the brain, today announced a joint agreement with Blackrock Neurotech to develop an automated surgical solution for implanting Brain Computer Interfaces (BCIs) into patients with a wide range of neurological disorders including paralysis, ALS, blindness, hearing loss and more. This partnership will seek to leverage ClearPoint’s platform and software to deliver, for the first time, a clinical solution for surgeons that is more streamlined and effective than other BCI implantation surgeries performed to date.
“The challenge of making people walk, talk, move and feel again is an enormous one,” said Marcus Gerhardt, Co-Founder and CEO at Blackrock Neurotech. “To make this vision a reality, we believe in partnering and collaborating with the best in the field. We are excited that ClearPoint is joining us in this endeavor to provide their expertise in navigation and surgical processes to create an integrated solution.”
BCIs read, analyze, and translate brain activity into commands, which are then relayed to output devices that carry out desired actions. Blackrock’s Utah Array is the leader in implantable BCIs, with 29 human patients using Blackrock’s BCI implants for up to 7 years. As the only electrode array of its kind, FDA-cleared for temporary monitoring of brain electrical activity, Blackrock’s BCI is also being used to explore numerous functional applications including sleep, paralysis, chronic pain, ALS, and more.
“The partnership with Blackrock will allow us to leverage our expertise in neuro-navigation and robotic delivery to create a system capable of assisting surgeons to implant these BCI arrays in a predictable and replicable manner,” explained Joe Burnett, President and CEO at ClearPoint Neuro. “Automation and predictability are crucial to getting a sophisticated device like the Blackrock BCI out of the research domain and into the clinic. We are thrilled to be an enabling partner to Blackrock and the BCI market in a similar fashion to what we are doing in Biologics and Drug Delivery and Medical Devices as well.”
Under the agreement, Blackrock will help fund the development of this new surgical solution, which will leverage the ClearPoint platform and growing global installed base. Blackrock’s recent infusion of capital from re.Mind Capital and others was designed to accelerate enrollment in clinical trials, advance surgical procedures such as this, and prepare for a commercial launch across multiple clinical indications. The joint agreement between ClearPoint and Blackrock will further advance the accessibility of Blackrock’s portfolio of BCI implants to a growing patient population and represents a combined total addressable market in excess of $1.0 Billion annually for both the BCI implants and neuro-navigational systems.
Gerhardt added, “We are focused on commercialization, which means we need an efficient, ideally automated and clinic-ready, proprietary method of surgical implantation. Some companies spend millions developing surgical solutions with uncertain outcomes; we have taken a more direct and collaborative route. By building a custom navigation system that incorporates ClearPoint’s growing global network of precision-oriented surgeons and clinical specialist teams, we will make our new automated procedures a benchmark for successful and accurate BCI implantation.”
About ClearPoint Neuro
ClearPoint Neuro’s mission is to improve and restore quality of life to patients and their families by enabling therapies for the most complex neurological disorders with pinpoint accuracy. Applications of the Company’s current product portfolio include deep brain stimulation, laser ablation, biopsy, neuro-aspiration, and delivery of drugs, biologics, and gene therapy to the brain. The ClearPoint Neuro Navi-gation System has FDA clearance, is CE-marked, and is installed in over 60 active sites in the United States, Canada, and Europe. ClearPoint Neuro is partnered with over 30 biologics/pharmaceutical com-panies and academic centers, providing solutions for direct CNS delivery of therapeutics in pre-clinical studies and clinical trials worldwide. To date, more than 4,500 cases have been performed and sup-ported by the Company’s field-based clinical specialist team, which offers support and services to our customers and partners. For more information, please visit www.clearpointneuro.com.
About Blackrock Neurotech
Blackrock Neurotech, formerly Blackrock Microsystems, builds pioneering brain-computer interface (BCI) technology. Founded in 2008, Blackrock is the world’s leading platform company for teams developing implantable BCI solutions to improve human lives. Blackrock’s precision electrode technology is at the core of many worldwide BCI innovations and has enabled dozens of early users (known as “BCI Pioneers”) to SeeAgain, HearAgain, MoveAgain, TalkAgain and more. For more information, visit www.blackrockneurotech.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements herein concerning the Company’s plans, growth and strategies may include forward-looking statements within the context of the federal securities laws. Statements regarding the Company's future events, developments and future performance, as well as management's expectations, beliefs, plans, estimates or projections relating to the future, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of these laws. Uncertainties and risks may cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by forward-looking statements. Particular uncertainties and risks include those relating to: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures adopted to contain its spread; future revenue from sales of the Company’s ClearPoint Neuro Navigation System products; and the Company’s ability to market, commercialize and achieve broader market acceptance for the Company’s ClearPoint Neuro Navigation System products. More detailed information on these and additional factors that could affect the Company’s actual results are described in the “Risk Factors” section in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, and the Company’s Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2021, both of which have been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.