Benzinga | Apr 26, 2021 08:05AM EDT

electroCore Highlights Johns Hopkins School Of Medicine Study Of Non-Invasive Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Symptomatic Exacerbation of Nausea in Patients with Gastroparesis and Related Disorders

electroCore, Inc. (NASDAQ:ECOR), a commercial-stage bioelectronic medicine company, today announced that Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine is starting an investigator-initiated trial of non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation (nVNS) using the Company's proprietary gammaCore device to treat symptomatic exacerbation of nausea in patients with gastroparesis and related disorders (NCT04857281).

Many gastrointestinal disorders can cause nausea and vomiting, of which the most well-known is gastroparesis, a digestive disorder in which the stomach empties slowly.1 The symptoms of gastroparesis can range from mild to severe, requiring prolonged hospitalizations and interventions, and causing life-threatening complications which can significantly affect the quality of life in affected individuals. It is estimated that close to 6 million Americans suffer from gastroparesis which is more common in women than men.2 The economic impact of gastroparesis can be substantial, with studies reporting 11% of patients disabled due to their gastroparesis symptoms, while another 28.5% reported a loss of yearly income. 3

Nausea without slow gastric emptying may be even more common and has been referred to by many names, including chronic unexplained nausea and vomiting (CUNV), gastroparesis-like syndrome (GLS), functional vomiting, and vomiting of unexplained etiology (VUE). Many of these patients can be classified as having functional dyspepsia (FD) which is a disorder that may affect 10% of the US population.4

"The vagus nerve plays a key role in the regulation of nausea and vomiting," commented Dr. Jay Pasricha, Professor of Medicine and Neurosciences and Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Neurogastroenterology and principal investigator of the study. "Vagal modulation is currently thought to be a major component of the treatment benefit from an implanted gastric electrical stimulation (GES) device in patients with symptoms of gastroparesis and the planned proof of concept study explores whether a non-invasive hand-held device for vagal modulation can also be effective in reducing the need for traditional rescue medications for patients with unexplained nausea and vomiting."

"We appreciate Dr. Pasricha and his team selecting gammaCore (nVNS) for their study," said Eric Liebler, Senior Vice President of Neurology at electroCore, Inc. "gammaCore (nVNS) is the first non-invasive, handheld medical device proven to activate the vagus nerve by providing a patented mild electrical stimulation through the skin, and offers a potential alternative to GES that could eliminate significant risks of injury or illness associated with implantation."

For more information, visit clinicaltrials.gov.