Autonomix Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMIX) has secured a significant expansion of its intellectual property portfolio with the European Patent Office (EPO) granting Patent No. 3,226,792 for its proprietary catheter-based technology. The patent, titled "Systems And Methods For Regulating Organ and/or Tumor Growth Rates, Function, and/or Development," strengthens the company's position in the neuromodulation field.
The newly granted patent covers a range of methods and systems used in nerve and receptor monitoring, electrophysiological monitoring, and surgical procedures related to systems that regulate prostate and tumor growth. This addition brings Autonomix's global patent portfolio to over 80 issued patents with an additional 40 pending applications.
"With the potential to address a wide range of conditions in which nerve activity plays a central role, we remain committed to strengthening our patent portfolio to support future applications and expansion opportunities," said Brad Hauser, CEO of Autonomix. "This European patent further validates the broad applicability of our technology across multiple conditions and anatomical targets."
Technology Applications and Potential
The company's primary focus remains on advancing development to reduce pancreatic cancer pain by targeting the celiac plexus. Pancreatic cancer is known for causing debilitating pain that often lacks reliable treatment options. The Autonomix technology aims to provide a novel approach to this significant unmet medical need.
The methods and systems covered in the patent may be used to sense, ablate, and verify neurological traffic to and from the prostate and organs of the lower urinary tract (LUT). This capability could potentially slow, halt, or even reverse the growth of a prostate gland or prostate tumor.
Beyond prostate-related treatments, the technology shows promise for addressing various LUT diseases that share physiology of the prostatic plexus, including:
- Chronic prostatitis
- Hypogonadism
- Nocturia
- Erectile dysfunction
The approach works by modulating neural activity and hormonal secretions of related organs, potentially offering new treatment pathways for conditions with limited current options.
Clinical Development Plans
Autonomix is advancing plans to submit an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) and commence U.S. clinical trials in 2025. These trials will support a labeling indication to commercialize the Autonomix Sensing and RF Ablation System in the U.S. specifically as a treatment for pancreatic cancer pain.
The company's platform technology includes a catheter-based microchip sensing array that may detect and differentiate neural signals with greater sensitivity than currently available technologies. This capability could enable, for the first time, transvascular diagnosis and treatment of diseases involving the peripheral nervous system virtually anywhere in the body.
While initially targeting pain management, particularly for pancreatic cancer patients, the technology constitutes a platform with potential applications across dozens of indications, including cardiology, hypertension, and chronic pain management across a wide disease spectrum.
The technology remains investigational and has not yet received marketing clearance in the United States. However, the expanding patent portfolio positions Autonomix to potentially address multiple conditions where nerve activity plays a central role in disease progression or symptom manifestation.
As the company moves toward clinical trials, this European patent grant represents an important milestone in Autonomix's efforts to develop innovative approaches to diagnosing and treating diseases involving the nervous system.
