Helius to Explore Strategic Alternatives After CMS Disappointment

Helius Medical Technologies, a company focused on a novel therapeutic neuromodulation approach for balance and gait deficits, has announced it is exploring strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value, including acquisition, merger, reverse merger, other business combination, sale of assets, licensing, or others.

The decision to explore strategic alternatives, according to the company, stems from the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) deferral of a reimbursement payment determination for the Portable Neuromodulation Stimulator (PoNS) Controller and “inadequate PoNS Mouthpiece pricing issued by CMS in October.”

The PoNS is a non-implantable, orally applied therapy that uses neurostimulation through a mouthpiece connected to a controller and is reportedly used in home care with physical rehab exercise to improve a patient’s balance and gait. The device delivers mild electrical impulses to the tongue and is indicated for use as a short-term treatment of gait deficit due to mild-to-moderate symptoms from multiple sclerosis.

These issues in insurance reimbursement have, in turn, “limited the company’s ability to advance its operations and impeded its access to traditional financing avenues,” Helius said in the press release.

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No updates will be provided by the company throughout the strategic review process unless and until the board of directors decide it is either appropriate or required.