Magstim CEO Lothar Krinke, PhD discusses Magstim and opportunities in transcranial magnetic stimulation in an interview with SmartTRAK
As a pioneer in transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), Magstim has been a leading supplier of transcranial magnetic stimulators for the last 30 years. Although TMS was first primarily used for research applications, it is now widely used in the clinical setting as a non-invasive therapy to treat major depressive disorder in patients who have failed medication therapy or other treatments. Magstim estimates approximately 50,000+ patients per year in the US receive TMS therapy for depression, a fraction of the five-to-six million patients who currently suffer from medication-resistant depression.
The combined worldwide market for TMS, including the clinical and research market, is estimated at ~$200 million a year, but it is potentially a multi-billion dollar market according to Magstim CEO Lothar Krinke, PhD. To find out more about TMS and Magstim, including its recent acquisition of Electrical Geodesics (EGI) and its high-density EEG from Royal Philips, click on the following video to listen to SmartTRAK’s interview with Dr. Krinke, recorded live via Uberconference (31:05 min). To download a complete transcript of the interview, just click the link below.
SmartTRAK: Anne Staylor here with BioMedGPS. Today I'm talking with Lothar Krinke, PhD, who is the CEO of Magstim Group. Lothar, thank you for talking with me today.
Lothar Krinke, PhD: It's great to be here
Well, Lothar, last time we talked, you were with Medtronic, when you were the VP or GM of deep brain stimulation. What drew you to Magstim and transcranial magnetic stimulation, also known as TMS?
LK: I enjoyed running the deep brain stimulation business for Medtronic very much, and it was important work with incredible outcomes, but deep brain stimulation has two major drawbacks. The first one is that patients really do not want wires in their brain, and the second one is that deep brain stimulation is a very expensive therapy. So if we want to treat millions and millions of patients around the world that suffer from brain disorders, we need affordable, noninvasive technology, and transcranial magnetic stimulation presents that opportunity.
So from what I understand, Magstim is a pioneer in TMS, and the company recently acquired Electrical Geodesics, EGI, and their high-density EEG from Royal Philips. Can you discuss why you acquired EGI? What was the thinking behind the acquisition and what did it bring to Magstim?
LK: First of all, EGI has been a pioneer in high-density EEG, primarily focused at the research community. But EGI also has this neuromodulation technology in the GTEN, which is transcranial electrical stimulation. One of the things that Magstim and EGI had in common is that...
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