This opioid withdrawal treatment is making sparks fly (Spark Biomedical’s version).
Spark Biomedical, a small medical device company, is distributing a drug-free, wearable tool that can treat opioid withdrawal symptoms like nausea, vomiting, insomnia, and anxiety.
The Sparrow Ascent is an earpiece that delivers mild electric pulses to the vagus nerve, which sends signals between the brain, heart, digestive system, and trigeminal nerve—which signals pain, touch, and temperature in the face—and in turn releases endorphins.
The opioid epidemic is a major health issue in the US; more than 81,000 people died from opioid-related drug overdoses in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And recovery from opioid dependency can be challenging, making relapses common and setting back the recovery process.
Due to pain, patients are left in a “super high state of fight or flight,” Daniel Powell, president and CEO of Spark Biomedical, told Healthcare Brew.
“What we’re able to do is bring [patients] out of that fight or flight with this neuro stimulation and cause the brain to release natural endorphins—and those endorphins end up relieving the pain and the aches associated with withdrawal,” he said.
The Sparrow Ascent received FDA approval in July 2023, and has since been distributed to patients in about 50 treatment centers across the US.
But Powell said it was crucial for the company to also reach patients outside rehabilitation centers.
“We had so many individuals seeking the product who couldn’t go into rehab,” Powell said, including patients who couldn’t take time off work or had to provide childcare. “We started saying we really need to meet people where they are, which is at their home, and provide this solution where you can comfortably get off your opioids from home.”
Spark to a flame. That’s where UpScriptHealth comes in; it’s a DTC healthcare company that partners with pharmaceutical companies and med techs to prescribe treatments to send directly to patients.
Navigate the healthcare industry
Healthcare Brew covers pharmaceutical developments, health startups, the latest tech, and how it impacts hospitals and providers to keep administrators and providers informed.
Under the partnership, UpScript connects patients with a provider who can write a prescription for the Sparrow Ascent, and then sends them the device.
“It’s really important in providing access to care for consumers and filling a valuable need in today’s healthcare market where there is just a flat-out shortage of physicians,” according to George Jones, COO of UpScriptHealth.
UpScript has used the same strategy with Spark Biomedical to help get the product in more patient’s hands. The benefit to Spark, Jones told Healthcare Brew, is that it could “provide direct-to-consumer access to [the] product without building a very capital intensive commercial infrastructure.”
“It was a really wonderful opportunity to help a lot of patients suffering,” Jones said. “It was also a unique opportunity to help a small startup company with its go-to market strategy.”
Going forward. Spark Biomedical is now studying patients who use the Sparrow Ascent for three months to understand long-term relapse, treatment engagement, and see if it can help patients overcome addiction.
The company is also conducting a clinical study to see if the device can be used on babies who are born dependent on opioids; it hopes to eventually get FDA approval, Powell said.
But the company’s “biggest challenge” at this time, he said, is getting the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services to cover the product through health insurance. Currently, the Sparrow Ascent can only be purchased out of pocket for $4,500.
“We want to get this into the hands of the people who really need it, and most of the people who really need it can’t afford to pay cash for it,” Powell said. “We’re aiming all of our resources to get this into Medicaid, Medicare, and private insurance.”