Brainsway Files for $30 Million IPO on Nasdaq to Advance Deep TMS Technology

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) has learned that medical technology company Brainsway recently announced its upcoming initial public offering on the Nasdaq Stock Market under the ticker symbol BWAY, aiming to raise $30 million. The company plans to offer 2.5 million shares at approximately $11.94 per share.

In January 2007, Brainsway was listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange. To date, the company has completed three rounds of financing. In March 2014, it closed an $11.8 million equity financing round led by Yelin Lapidot Investment House.

Brainsway, founded in 2003 and headquartered in Jerusalem, Israel, is a medical technology company dedicated to the development and commercialization of non-invasive neuromodulation therapies for various brain-related disorders. The company has developed Deep Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (Deep TMS) technology, which delivers electrical currents at varying rates to generate an electromagnetic field that depolarizes cortical neurons according to the operating frequency, thereby activating neural networks in specific brain regions to achieve therapeutic effects for a range of psychiatric conditions. As a painless and non-invasive method of cortical stimulation, this technology is widely used in psychiatry, neurology, and other fields.

Based on Deep TMS technology, Brainsway has developed a deep transcranial magnetic stimulation device that modulates physiological brain activity by stimulating neurons with magnetic pulses to treat major depressive disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. This non-invasive device requires neither hospitalization nor anesthesia, does not cause systemic side effects, involves a 20-minute treatment session, and enables patients to recover within just a few weeks.

Currently, deep transcranial magnetic stimulation devices have been utilized in more than 60 clinical trials worldwide. Brainsway believes that, in addition to depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder, the device holds potential for treating conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder, bipolar disorder, nicotine addiction, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.

In 2008, the deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (dTMS) device was approved by the FDA for patients with major depressive disorder who had failed to respond to pharmacotherapy; in 2013, the device received further FDA approval for the treatment of headache associated with certain migraines; in August 2018, it was once again approved by the FDA for patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) who had not responded to conventional treatments.

It is understood that depression is a mood disorder caused by abnormalities in the genetic system or significant changes in the postnatal environment, primarily characterized by persistent and spontaneous low mood. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a common chronic condition in which patients experience uncontrollable thoughts and repeatedly engage in certain behaviors. According to data from the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health, approximately 1% of American adults suffered from OCD in 2017.

(Compiled by Jiao Yanli)