 |
| SmartStop smoking cessation system--Courtesy of Chrono Therapeutics |
Smoking cessation runs the gamut from patches to nicotine gum, but a new delivery method from Chrono Therapeutics uses a programmable monitoring system to help smokers suppress cravings.
The company's SmartStop system combines programmable, transdermal nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) with real-time support to anticipate smokers' nicotine cravings. Smokers experience predictable daily peak nicotine cravings, and Chrono's device automatically varies nicotine levels throughout the day to match those patterns, the company said in a statement. SmartStop includes Bluetooth technology that allows users to wirelessly communicate with a digital support program, adding a behavioral component to the system.
Smoking kills more than 400,000 Americans each year and is responsible for approximately one in 5 deaths in the U.S. NRT is one way to help smokers quit, but conventional treatment does not always match craving cycles and often results in low efficacy rates, the company said in a statement. Chrono recently collected $32 million in a Series A financing round to support development of its innovative drug delivery method.
"We have developed a unique approach to the very difficult problem of helping smokers quit their life-threatening habits," Chrono founder Guy DiPierro said in a statement. "We believe that the blend of a well understood active drug compound in nicotine with a programmable, wearable delivery system that takes into account a person's habits as well as physiological patterns that each contribute to cravings has the potential to help more smokers once and for all."
Chrono is not the only company experimenting with smoking-cessation methods. In 2012, CN Creative secured $3.1 million in financing to develop its electronic inhaler NRT device to help patients quit smoking. The company's hand-held Nicadex device runs on lithium battery power and allows patients to inhale a pharmaceutical-grade nicotine solution through a vaporizer. Selecta Biosciences, a 2011 Fierce 15 winner, moved its smoking-cessation vaccine through Phase II clinical trials, winning critical backing from the U.S. National Institutes of Health.
- read the release
- here's FierceMedicalDevices' take