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Medical Acoustics exhales with product on market

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Business First of Buffalo - by Tracey Drury

Medical Acoustics LLC was thrilled to get a call last fall from Popular Science magazine, which wanted to feature its therapeutic lung flute product among the 100 Top Innovations for 2009 in the December issue.

The company spent years developing the device, which uses low-frequency sound waves to help dislodge mucus in the lungs – a lifesaving function for individuals with respiratory illnesses such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Much of the company’s funding had been invested in clinical trials and application fees for a patent and FDA approval, leaving little for marketing and advertising.

The call from Popular Science fixed all that, providing free exposure to 6 million readers worldwide at just the right time: Medical Acoustics received approvals Jan. 4 from the Food & Drug Administration to begin selling the product, and the firm began accepting orders Feb. 1.

“The business plan and our vision six months ago was very different,” says Nicolaas Smit, a biochemist and the firm’s vice president of science and technology. “No one knew we would have this in front of 6 million people worldwide. You can’t ask for better exposure. It’s a wonderful problem to have.”

The FDA clearance followed a successful clinical trial at the University at Buffalo and the WNY VA Medical Center that showed the safety and effectiveness of the device in COPD patients with chronic bronchitis. The company expects the device to play a role in the diagnosis and development of treatments for lung cancer, tuberculosis, chronic bronchitis, asthma and pneumonia.

Privately held, Medical Acoustics was formed in February 2002. It’s funded largely through angel investors from Buffalo, New York City and as far away as Japan. Early on, the company worked closely with UB’s Office of Science Technology Transfer and Economic Outreach (STOR), a move that helped influence the decision to base Medical Acoustics here in Buffalo.

“We were going to put the company in New York, but we couldn’t get any real help from the university community down there, though we had talked to some folks at NYU,” says Frank Codella, board chairman and co-founder. Codella, also a vice president at Synacor, has been involved in the development of several technology firms in the region.
“It was so much easier to work with the UB community,” he says. “They cut through all the red tape for us.”

Robert Genco, vice provost and director of UB STOR, says the product helps the Buffalo region as well, even if it’s not technology owned by UB.

“We have this mission to help the economy in the region and to make sure that technology as they come out of our region are properly packaged, researched and marketed to benefit not only our region but people throughout the globe,” Genco says.
With offices in Clarence, the company is negotiating with three manufacturers from the Buffalo area to shift manufacturing of the device here, too. It is currently made through a company in Madison, Wis. Smit says the company hopes to have the local contract worked out soon to meet demand created by the magazine article.

“That put the avalanche way ahead of what our own internal views are on how we would reach out to the community,” he says. “We’re not even out in an active process of contacting physicians and health-care providers, and we have more business than we can handle right now.”

In addition to its U.S. patent, the company has been granted international protection through patents in China, Japan, Canada and India and has an application pending in the European Union. It is approved for sale in the EU and Canada through CE status, as well.
The product is going through clinical trials in Canada and New Mexico for use for deep lung samples for early cancer detection, while early studies in Japan for use in tuberculosis detection have been positive.

At $40, the device is relatively inexpensive compared to other medical devices. It also is approved for reimbursement by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare.

The market outlook for the device is strong: More than 10 million individuals in the United States alone have COPD.

“It’s a very inexpensive solution to a very expensive problem,” Codella says.