Encora Therapeutics — Pioneering The Remedy For Hand Tremors

The Problem

Hand tremors can make it nearly impossible for people with Parkinson’s Disease and Essential Tremor to complete the activities necessary for independent living. Unfortunately, the current treatments for tremors are limited to burdensome medications and invasive surgeries that have debilitating side effects, inherent risks, and are not always effective.

What The Company Does

The company designed the Encora Tremor Mitigation wristband, which can provide hand tremor relief by autonomously optimizing vibratory stimulation for individuals in real time and without additional side effects, tremor management burden, or clinician visits. The device also has monitoring capabilities to track symptom progression and collect data to provide insights into how daily activities and prescription dosage affect hand tremor. The device doesn’t cause side effects or add treatment management burdens. Its discrete form factor caters to the needs of people with hand tremor who prefer a device that they can take to social events without drawing unwanted attention. It can be used for any activities that require fine motor skills, and by using mechanical vibration as its mechanism of action, the device is intrinsically not as risky and does not warrant as many contraindications and side effects as some of the other devices.

Market

Encora’s technology will address the needs of 1M people with Parkinson’s and 7M people with Essential Tremor in the U.S. before expanding to Europe. Encora plans on expanding its innovation of adaptive vibratory stimulus to address the unmet needs of the 42M movement disorder patients in the U.S. before expanding worldwide. Encora’s device falls into the mechanical stimulation category, and its main advantage lies in how it personalizes vibratory stimulation in real time to deliver the best tremor reduction treatment.

Business Model

There will be a one-time upfront fee for the hardware and a recurring subscription fee for the optional data-monitoring service. Encora plans to get coverage for the device as a prescribed tremor mitigation solution in the future.

Traction

To date, Encora has raised an angel round and a pre-seed round, led by a Boston-based venture capital firm. Encora owns the entirety of the intellectual property, and the device is patent pending. The company has also achieved large milestones unique to the medical devices space. Encora has formed a partnership with two key researchers in the movement disorder area for clinical trials in Fall of 2021, verified its FDA device clearance pathway and insurance reimbursement strategy with consultants, and has been designated as a breakthrough device by the FDA. The FDA’s Breakthrough Device Program was created to accelerate the path to market for innovative medical devices that demonstrate the promise to substantially improve the standard of care for patients with life-threatening or irreversibly debilitating conditions. The designation as a breakthrough device will significantly fast-track Encora’s process to FDA clearance. Encora is currently participating in MedTech Innovator, the largest accelerator of medical devices in the world, and in MassMedic IGNITE, an accelerator from MassMedic, a prominent New England professional association of medical device manufacturers. Previously, Encora has participated in DeltaV, MassChallenge, and the regional I-CORPS programs.

Founding Team Background

The co-founders of Encora are Daniel Carballo, Alli Davanzo, Kyle Pina, and Trang Luu. The four co-founders met in an undergraduate class at MIT that focuses on building products that help people. The first prototype of the device originated in the class, and after witnessing the reactions of the first patients testing the device, the four founders of Encora were compelled to continue the development process.

What They Need Help With

Encora is currently looking for interested participants in the Boston, Houston, and Los Angeles areas to try its non-invasive wearable for hand tremor reduction. Connect With The Encora Therapeutics Team. 

Subscribe To The Buzz To Get More Startups In Your Inbox