Autonomix Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMIX) shares surged significantly today, climbing 124.24% to $17.29, following the announcement of promising preliminary results from the company’s ongoing proof-of-concept human clinical trial. The trial focuses on evaluating the safety and efficacy of transvascular energy delivery to ablate specific problematic nerves and reduce pain in patients suffering from pancreatic cancer.
Encouraging Early Data in Pain Management
The clinical trial involved five “lead-in” patients, with three treated via femoral access and two through brachial access. Results revealed that the patients treated with femoral access experienced substantial pain relief, while those treated through brachial access showed no improvement.
The data reported from the responder group indicate a significant reduction in pain, as measured by the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), with average pain scores dropping from 8.0 pre-procedure to 1.33 within 4-6 weeks post-procedure. Notably, all responding patients were able to eliminate opioid use entirely within this period.
Implications for Pancreatic Cancer Patients
Late-stage pancreatic cancer patients often endure chronic pain, leading to dependence on opioids. These medications come with severe side effects, including addiction and overdose risk.
The trial’s preliminary findings suggest that Autonomix’s novel approach may offer a groundbreaking alternative, effectively reducing pain and allowing patients to discontinue opioid use. This development represents a potential shift in interventional pain management for pancreatic cancer patients, addressing a critical unmet medical need.
Autonomix’s Innovative Technology Platform
Autonomix’s proprietary platform utilizes a catheter-based microchip sensing array antenna capable of detecting neural signals with unparalleled sensitivity—3,000 times greater than existing technologies. Once the target nerves are identified, the company’s radio frequency (RF) ablation technology selectively destroys them, offering a precision-based approach to managing pain.
This method contrasts with traditional treatments like opioids and invasive ethanol injections, which often provide limited relief and carry significant risks. With the trial set to complete enrollment by the end of 2024, Autonomix’s innovative technology could mark a transformative advance in treating chronic pain and other conditions such as hypertension and cardiology.
