Meanwhile, CURN is having a nice day. I had missed this last week:
>>SUNNYVALE, Calif., Dec 7, 2001 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Curon Medical, Inc. (Nasdaq: CURN chart, msgs) today announced the completion of two major U.S. clinical studies evaluating the efficacy of its Stretta(R) System for the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD).
The first study, a U.S. Randomized, Sham-Controlled Stretta Trial, was a double-blind study conducted at eight institutions beginning in May 2000. This study compared patient GERD symptoms, such as heartburn and regurgitation, at six and 12 months after treatment. Patients were randomly assigned to receive either the Stretta procedure or a sham procedure; neither the patient nor the study coordinator had knowledge as to which treatment a patient received. The data demonstrate that the Stretta patient group reported a significant reduction in overall GERD symptom scores and a marked improvement in patient satisfaction, while the sham group remained unchanged from baseline.
The second study was the Stretta Registry, an extensive patient database collected from 33 institutions representing 590 patients treated with the Stretta procedure since February 1999. This study demonstrates that the Stretta procedure results in significant GERD symptom control and patient satisfaction over the long-term. Most patients were able to discontinue all anti-secretory medication use after treatment. Furthermore, this study provides insight into the durability of the Stretta procedure. Patients treated more than one year prior to participation in the study showed superior results in comparison to those who were treated less than one year from study participation.
The results of these clinical trials, as well as those of 11 other studies, have been submitted to the Digestive Disease Week for consideration for national presentation, to be held May 20-22, 2002 in San Francisco, California.
"These long-awaited results answer important questions regarding our Stretta technology. First, there is no placebo effect associated with the Stretta procedure, as determined by this most rigorously designed study; a double-blind, randomized-control trial. Second, the notable safety and efficacy results as seen in previous clinical trials, conducted at major academic centers, were transferable to the general population of surgeons and gastroenterologists that participated in the Stretta Registry," commented John W. Morgan, Curon Medical's President and Chief Executive Officer. "We look forward to the possibility of findings from these studies being presented in greater detail at the Digestive Disease Week in 2002."<<
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Peter, you say you follow GERD a bit. Any thoughts?
Cheers, Tuck |
