Eisana Corp and Cortex Design announce collaboration to develop medical device for cancer patients

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Carole Spangler Vaughn, PhD, MBA

HOUSTON– Eisana Corporation, a development stage medical device company dedicated to mitigating or preventing the most devastating side effects from cancer treatment, and Cortex Design, an award-winning engineering design firm focused on medical and life sciences, have solidified a collaborative agreement for the development of Eisana’s first product—an affordable, tech-enabled device to prevent chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN).

Each year roughly 500,000 cancer patients in the US can suffer from CIPN, a disorder affecting chemotherapy patients which causes pain and loss of function in the hands and feet. Unfortunately, this condition is sometimes permanent, forever altering a cancer patient’s quality of life. Several studies have shown that cooling the hands and feet can prevent this nerve damage by constricting blood vessels, thus protecting the nerve endings from toxic chemotherapy drugs. There currently exists no FDA-cleared device on the market for preventing CIPN.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled with our newly formed relationship with Cortex,” says Carole Spangler Vaughn, PhD, MBA, the CEO and founder of Eisana. “They have the intellectual bandwidth, depth of experience, as well as passion for the project, to take it to the finish line.”

In addition to their participation in the design collaboration, Cortex has also committed to acting as the lead investor in Eisana’s current pre-seed round, currently targeting a raise of $600,000.

“When we heard about the mission of Eisana, we were really inspired. We want to do everything we can to help,” says James Chalmers, Partner and Chief Strategist at Cortex. “Nothing would make us happier than having these devices give cancer patients a better life after treatment.”

Spangler Vaughn added, “Cortex‘s position as a lead investor truly demonstrates a real commitment to getting this product to market and a confirmation of our united mission.”

This device is the first in a pipeline of products to help cancer patients minimize suffering the side effects of chemotherapy both during and after treatment. “Having gone through cancer treatment myself, I know how important these products are,” commented Spangler Vaughn. “Having cancer is hard enough without additional side effects. Providing these devices will allow us to completely redefine how cancer patients experience treatment by making chemotherapy far less devastating.”