General and Clinical Lead for Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery, Consultant Surgeon Mr. Fergus Noble, undertook the RefluxStop™ procedure to treat severe GORD in a 30-year-old female with a hiatus hernia and oesophagitis. 

He says: "The patient is doing well following surgery; she recovered quickly and was eating normally within days.  Her severe symptoms, including vomiting, chest pain, sore throat, reflux, and epigastric pain and discomfort, have all been resolved without the need for ongoing medication.

"We are delighted to be the first site in the South of England to offer this procedure to patients suffering from this chronic and debilitating condition." Mr. Noble is planning to perform more cases later this month.

"RefluxStop is potentially revolutionary: The procedure is minimally invasive and restores the body's natural physiology allowing it to function normally. The current data shows the potential for patients to experience significantly fewer side effects compared to what's typically associated with other anti-reflux surgery, as it does not encircle the food passageway. It offers some NHS patients a viable treatment option for the first time."

An estimated 9.5 million people in the UK suffer from GORD today.¹ The introduction of RefluxStop to the UK NHS is estimated to improve quality of life through favourable health outcomes while being cost-effective against other available treatment options.[2] With an estimated £760 million in resource implications due to GORD in the UK annually[1], in addition to lost productivity from presenteeism (9.5%), and absenteeism (0.4 hr/week/employee)[3], implementation of RefluxStop may provide substantial benefit to the UK NHS and the economy as a whole.

Implantica's CEO, Dr. Peter Forsell, says: "It is exciting that the RefluxStop™ procedure is now offered at yet another NHS hospital in the UK, the largest single public healthcare system in Europe. This is a substantial milestone and a sincere recognition of the distinguished and unique value of RefluxStop™ therapy that is now being offered to patients with severe GORD. The addition of Southampton significantly expands patient access in the south of UK and this success builds on the momentum we are building in other European markets. We once again welcome Mr. Noble and the University Hospital Southampton to the growing community of surgeons performing the RefluxStop™ therapy."

1. Nirwan JS, Hasan SS, Babar ZU, Conway BR, Ghori MU. Global Prevalence and Risk Factors of Gastro-oesophageal Reflux Disease (GORD): Systematic Review with Meta-analysis. Sci Rep. 2020 Apr 2;10(1):5814. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-62795-1. PMID: 32242117; PMCID: PMC7118109.
2. Harper S, Grodzicki L, Mealing S, Gemmill L, Goldsmith PJ, Ahmed AR. Cost-effectiveness of a novel, non-active implantable device as a treatment for refractory gastro-esophageal reflux disease. J Med Econ. 2023 Jan-Dec;26(1):603-613. doi: 10.1080/13696998.2023.2201063. PMID: 37042668.
3. Gisbert JP, Cooper A, Karagiannis D, Hatlebakk J, Agréus L, Jablonowski H, Nuevo J. Impact of gastroesophageal reflux disease on work absenteeism, presenteeism and productivity in daily life: a European observational study. Health Qual Life Outcomes. 2009 Oct 16;7:90. doi: 10.1186/1477-7525-7-90. PMID: 19835583; PMCID: PMC2770561.

For further information, please contact:
Nicole Pehrsson, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer
Telephone (CH): +41 (0)79 335 09 49
nicole.pehrsson@implantica.com

Implantica is listed on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market in Stockholm.

The company's Certified Adviser is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se

The information was sent for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, on June 19, 2024, at 08:00 a.m. (CET).

About Implantica
Implantica is a medtech group dedicated to bringing advanced technology into the body. Implantica's lead product, RefluxStop™, is a CE-marked implant for the prevention of gastroesophageal reflux that will potentially create a paradigm shift in anti-reflux treatment as supported by successful clinical trial results. Implantica also focuses on eHealth inside the body and has developed a broad, patent protected, product pipeline based partly on two platform technologies: an eHealth platform designed to monitor a broad range of health parameters, control treatment from inside the body and communicate to the caregiver on distance and a wireless energizing platform designed to power remote-controlled implants wirelessly through intact skin. Implantica is listed on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market (ticker: IMP A SDB). Visit www.implantica.com for further information.

About RefluxStop™
RefluxStop™ is a new innovative treatment that has the potential to spur a paradigm shift in anti-reflux surgery. It's unique mechanism of action differentiates it from standard of care and current surgical solutions. Longer established surgical options for GORD involve encircling the food passageway to support the lower oesophageal sphincter's closing mechanism and are commonly associated with side effects such as swallowing difficulties, pain when swallowing and inability to belch and/or vomit.

In contrast, the RefluxStop™ device treats the cause of acid reflux without encircling and putting pressure on the food passageway. It restores and maintains the lower oesophageal sphincter in its original, natural position.

The RefluxStop™ mechanism of action is focused on reconstructing all three components of the anti-reflux barrier, that if compromised could possibly result in acid reflux. It restores and supports the natural anatomical physiology of the body allowing the body to itself solve the problem with acid reflux.

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