Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems, Inc. recently announced that the Company's research collaborators at Indiana University and the Center for Paralysis Research at Purdue University presented study results that demonstrate - for the first time - that Cyberkinetics' Andara(TM) Oscillating Field Stimulator (OFS) PLUS System, a combination product, induced nerve regeneration and functional recovery in a preclinical model of chronic, or long-term, spinal cord injury. These new findings build on the previously demonstrated ability of Cyberkinetics' Andara(TM) OFS Device, used alone, to restore sensation and some function in a Phase Ia clinical trial of ten participants who received the device within 18 days of their injuries.

In his presentation at the Annual Meeting of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons in San Francisco, California, Scott Shapiro, M.D., explained that these promising results were achieved in a preclinical study that examined use of the Andara(TM) OFS Device in combination with local delivery of a naturally occurring small molecule called inosine (together, the "Andara(TM) OFS PLUS System"). This system is the subject of a patent filing to which Cyberkinetics holds an exclusive, worldwide license. Dr. Shapiro is the Principal Investigator for the ongoing Phase Ib clinical trial of the Andara(TM) OFS Device and the Robert L. Campbell Professor of Neurosurgery at the Indiana University School of Medicine. Richard Borgens, Ph.D., inventor of Cyberkinetics' Andara(TM) OFS Device technology, founder of Purdue's Center for Paralysis Research, and the Mari Hulman George Professor of Applied Neurology in the School of Veterinary Medicine at Purdue, and Scott Purvines, M.D., a neurosurgeon affiliated with The Brain and Spine Center at St. Luke's Hospital in Chesterfield, Missouri, and former intern at the Indiana University School of Medicine, were co-authors on the study.

"The need for effective treatments for spinal cord injury is urgent and we are currently studying the Andara(TM) OFS Device with the goal of making a promising treatment for acute spinal cord injuries available to surgeons as soon as possible," stated Dr. Shapiro. "The findings reported today suggest that the Andara OFS PLUS System may eventually make it possible to also restore function in the large number of chronically injured patients who suffered injuries in the past."

"The Andara(TM) OFS Device is currently under FDA review as a Humanitarian Device for use in patients with acute spinal cord injuries and that indication represents a promising near-term revenue opportunity. We believe that the exciting preclinical results reported today provide the basis for expanding the Andara(TM) OFS market potential by using it as a delivery vehicle, not only for inosine, but for other neural repair factors as well," said Timothy R. Surgenor, President and Chief Executive Officer at Cyberkinetics. "We are also actively exploring how to move beyond the treatment of spinal cord injuries to address the other potential neurostimulator markets for the Andara(TM) OFS Device such as repair of peripheral nerve injuries, strokes and traumatic brain injuries."

"The results reported today are a significant step in our efforts to develop novel biological approaches to the medical treatment of paralyzed people. While many emerging treatments for spinal cord injury, such as stem cells, are still in early stages of development, the Andara(TM) OFS platform could potentially bring benefit to paralyzed people sooner. We believe that there is great promise in combining OFS with a variety of neurotrophic factors, and we look forward to further investigating this approach," said Richard Borgens, Ph.D., inventor of the Andara(TM) OFS Device technology platform and co-investigator for the study.

More information and an Andara OFS Demo can be found at the Cyberkinetics Web site.