Milestone Scientific Inc (NYSE:MLSS) has announced that Dr Miguel de la Garza, a recognized expert in pain management, has begun incorporating the company's CompuFlo Epidural instrument into his practice for pain management.
The move follows approval by Surgery Partners, one of the largest and growing surgical services businesses in the United States, it added.
The medtech group said Dr de la Garza is the current president of the Florida Society of Interventional Pain Physicians, which is one of the largest pain societies in the US, representing 400 interventional pain management specialists in the state of Florida.
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“We appreciate the support of Dr Miguel de la Garza who is a leader in the field of pain management,” Milestone Scientific president and CEO Arjan Haverhals said in a statement.
“We’re also pleased to announce that Surgery Partners has approved the CompuFlo Epidural instrument for use across their network in pain management.
“Our initial focus has been on the labor and delivery market with 2.4 million annual epidural analgesia procedures in the US alone, where our sales pipeline is solid and growing, and we are in advanced discussions with hospitals and larger health care institutions.”
Milestone said Dr de la Garza trained at the prestigious Cleveland Clinic for his fellowship and has published numerous articles and lectured internationally. He is a partner at Comprehensive Pain Management Partners in Tampa, Florida, and performs his clinical pain management procedures at Surgery Partners.
Founded in 2004, Surgery Partners has over 4,000 affiliated physicians, and more than 180 locations in 31 states, including ambulatory surgery centers, surgical hospitals, multi-specialty physician practices and urgent care facilities.
“Milestone’s CompuFlo Epidural instrument represents the future of anesthesiology and pain management,” Dr de la Garza commented.
“The instrument is easy to use, and I wanted to secure this product to decrease the chance of intrathecal punctures, as I believe it will increase safety for a number of procedures. I strongly recommend this instrument to other practitioners in the pain management field.”
Milestone said the latest agreement marks a major step in its goal of expanding the addressable market for its instruments beyond labor and delivery.
The company noted that the overall addressable market for epidural anaesthesia is estimated to be approximately $5 billion, with 11 million epidural procedures performed in the US on an annual basis.
“The pain management market is at least twice the size of the labor and delivery market segment, and we believe the CompuFlo Epidural instrument has the potential to capture a significant share of this market given its unparalleled safety, reduced risk of complications and cost savings,” Haverhals concluded.
Milestone Scientific patents, designs and develops innovative injection technologies and instruments for medical, dental and cosmetic applications. Its computer-controlled systems are designed to make injections precise, efficient and increase the overall patient comfort and safety.
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