Spine Wave Inc. is bringing its NuCore Injectable Nucleus Device to a clinical study in Europe to test a second generation of the device as a treatment for Degenerative Disc Disease (DDD). The Shelton, Conn.-based company said the device could offer patients with DDD an alternative to spinal surgery.
If successful in the study, the NuCore Injectable Nucleus Device could wind up being implanted through the skin in liquid form to the disc space in the spine. Made of a synthetic polymer intended to resemble a natural nucleus, the device has shown improvements in pain levels in early results from the study. In addition to reducing pain level, the company said the goal of NuCore’s second generation device is also to preserve the disc height and restore biomechanical function.
In August, Spine Wave won approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market its StaXx XDL Expandable Device, a PEEK spacer intended for spinal fusion through lateral surgery.
The company rounded up $17.5 million in a funding round in February that Spine Wave said at the time would be used to assist in bringing its NuCore Injectable Nucleus to clinical trials.
