Gate Science partners with clinicians and their patients to safely silence pain.
Each year more than 40 million Americans are prescribed opioids for postoperative pain, 2.4 million become opioid dependent, and over 600,000 progress to addiction. Lives are destroyed and incurred healthcare costs exceed $14 Billion.
At Gate Science our mission is to eliminate opioids from post-surgical recovery, alleviating pain, avoiding human tragedy, and reducing costs to patients, providers and payers.
Gate Science is developing Relay, a medical device that, for the first time, provides effective and durable pain control through the entire peri- and post-operative episode (up to 30 days) without narcotics. Gate’s breakthrough combination therapy provides patient-controlled pain relief addressing both intense and ongoing pain in the hours, days and weeks following surgery.
See it in action:
Approach
Gate’s technology represents the future of postop pain management.
For the first time, pain relief is achieved through simultaneous control of two signaling mechanisms in the peripheral nervous system. Further, Relay places the patient in direct control of their pain and provides meaningful feedback to the provider.
The persistence of post-surgical pain
In the hospital or outpatient setting clinicians have successfully employed multimodal, Rapid Recovery and Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) protocols in perioperative settings to reduce opioid consumption. Long acting analgesics provide relief for up to three days, but post-operative pain persists for weeks. After discharge, opioids become the cornerstone of therapy.
Our science & technology
Two independent gates control transmission along peripheral pain pathways. These gates operate at the molecular and synaptic levels:
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The molecular gate
- The Sodium channel in the neuronal membrane controls propagation of signals along the length of the neuron.
- In normal operation, the molecular gate opens, allowing signal propagation, in response to voltage change across the membrane.
- The molecular gate closes, inhibiting signal propagation, in response to pharmacologic blockade by bupivacaine and other agents administered along the peripheral nerve trunk.
- Sodium channel blockade is an established treatment for acute pain, commonly used in nerve block.
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The synaptic gate
- Presynaptic activity in the dorsal horn of the spinal cord controls transmission of pain signals to the brain from the peripheral nervous system
- With painful stimuli from the periphery, the synaptic gate opens in response to the dominance of small fiber input over large fiber input.
- The synaptic gate closes in response to neuromodulation, pulsed electrical stimulation along the peripheral nerve trunk.
- Neuromodulation is an established treatment for chronic pain.
These two gates are complementary, and together they safely cover the spectrum of pain manifest in the peri- and post-operative periods.
Gate’s wireless Relay device is the first to combine pharmacologic blockade and neuromodulation in ONE multimodal device, placing control directly in the hands of the recovering patient.
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Relay combines delivery of analgesic solution via injection ports, closing the molecular gate, and neuromodulation via an integrated pulse generator, closing the synaptic gate.
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Relay fits into established workflow routines and is placed next to the primary nerve prior to surgery. Clinical deployment is as simple as performing a single shot block.
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Compact and unobtrusive, Relay can stay in place for up to 30 days.
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Following surgery, the patient is in control. Instead of reaching for an opioid pill, the patient adjusts pulse intensity up or down via an app on their smartphone.
Relay is ideally suited for orthopedic procedures including knee, hip, and shoulder replacement, rotator cuff, ACL, ankle and foot surgeries, and sports injuries.
Leadership
The Gate Science leadership team has launched nine drugs and devices in orthopedics.
Neil Bodick MD, PhD, MBA
Founder, Chief Executive Officer, Member of the Board
- A respected clinical scientist and life science entrepreneur
- Co-Founder, CMO, and CSO of Flexion Therapeutics; Founder, COO, and CMO of Chorus, Eli Lilly and Company
- Faculty, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Fellow of the Faculty, Columbia University, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
- Author of 16 patents in medical informatics, neurodegenerative therapies, and musculoskeletal therapies, and published broadly in these areas
Sanjay Sinha MD
Founder, Chief Innovation Officer, Member of the Board
- Lead Anesthesiologist and Board member, Connecticut Joint Replacement Institute, Hartford
- Medical Director of OASC (Rocky Hill) and Lighthouse (Hartford) Ambulatory Surgery Centers
- Fellowship Director of Regional Anesthesia and Acute Pain, St. Francis Hospital, Hartford. Developed iPACK block, Invited Speaker at National/International Regional Anesthesia Meetings
- Previous consultant to Flexion Therapeutics, Pacira, Arrow and Sonosite
Lara Wynne
Founder, Chief Commercial Officer, Member of the Board
- 20 years broad commercial leadership in pharmaceuticals and medical device with focus on national strategy
- Successfully launched several innovative drugs and devices for orthopedics and acute and chronic pain for Genzyme Biosurgery, Salient Surgical, Medtronic, Zimmer, Pacira and Flexion Therapeutics
- A powerful reputation among nationally recognized orthopedic thought leaders
Philip Reilly MD, JD
Founder and Member of the Board
- A respected clinical geneticist and life science entrepreneur
- Co-founder of Fulcrum Therapeutics, Voyager Therapeutics, Edimer, Lotus Tissue Repair, and bluebird bio
- Trustee emeritus of Cornell University and an overseer emeritus of Weill Cornell Medical College
- Author of more than 100 articles in scholarly journals and seven books including most recently Orphan: The Quest to Save Children with Rare Genetic Disorders
Contact Us
Gate Science is eager to connect with clinicians and investors who share our mission to eliminate opioids from pain management.
For surgeons and anesthesiologists, contact clinicians@gatescience.com
For investors, direct inquiries to: William Suter, VP Finance, Gate Science, at investors@gatescience.com
For all other general inquiries, contact info@gatescience.com