Source: business.financialpost.com
Author: press release

MedX Health Corp. announces it will initiate a targeted marketing campaign following an announcement by a worldwide coalition of researchers and clinicians who have agreed that light therapy is among the most effective interventions for the prevention of oral mucositis and painful ulcers in the mouth and throat resulting from cancer therapy. The Company said this represents a significant sales opportunity in Canada and the United States for MedX’s photobiomodulation therapy devices.

The new guidelines from the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer (“MASCC”) and International Society of Oral Oncology (“ISOO”), recently published in the journal Supportive Care in Cancer, present a significant upgrade in care guidelines for adult cancer patients worldwide (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31286228). More than 70,000 head and neck cancers are diagnosed annually in Canada and the United States, and it is documented that 100% of patients undergoing radiation therapy for these cancers will develop mucositis, which patients report as the worst side effect of their cancer treatment. Pain from the condition can slow or delay cancer treatment, and in severe cases require hospitalization.

“Cancer patients can now benefit from this non-invasive, non-pharmacological treatment for a common, debilitating side effect of treatment,” said Dr. Praveen Arany, DDS, PhD, the current President of the World Association for Photobiomodulation Therapy (W.A.L.T.), a co-corresponding author on the MASCC/ISOO paper and assistant professor of oral biology and biomedical engineering at the University at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine. “Recent advancements in our understanding of mechanisms of low dose light treatments, or Photobiomodulation (“PBM”) therapy, are enabling rigorous validation of clinical protocols. MASCC/ISOO’s new guidelines are a major milestone for the PBM field and we are confident it will set a clear path for several exciting clinical applications for PBM therapy.”

“With these new guidelines we expect our devices will help dramatically reduce mucositis,” noted Scott Spearn, CEO of MedX. “Our laser/light products have been on the market for other indications and are FDA cleared and Health Canada licensed for PBM therapy and are already being used in a number of mucositis treatment studies in Canada and the US. We expect sales of our PBM therapy products to accelerate over the next year with a sales and marketing campaign focused in this particular segment being rolled out across North America.“

MedX has been collaborating with cancer specialists using its products with their patients, including Ryan Tapping of Ottawa, who was diagnosed with throat cancer in December 2018 and underwent radiation and chemotherapy in early 2019. “I began using MedX’s HOME™ unit during my 3rd week of a 7-week radiation treatment program. I continued treatments once or twice daily until 7 weeks post radiation. I believe that the MedX unit I used for twelve weeks helped heal my mouth and throat to a point where I could successfully swallow again sooner than if I had not used the device. It helped contribute to the return of more normal saliva and all mouth functioning related to chewing and swallowing.”