Intrinsic Therapeutics

A medical device company based in Woburn, Massachusetts, Intrinsic Therapeutics focuses on therapies that treat patients who suffer from sciatica due to lumbar disc herniation. The surgical technique, called a discectomy, requires the surgeon to remove the pieces of herniated disc that press against the nerves in order to alleviate symptoms. Following discectomy, the most common spinal surgical procedure, patients with large holes in their discs have a 27 percent chance of developing a new hernia within 2 years. Intrinsic Therapeutics has developed the Barricaid Anular Closure device to close the hole left in the disc, reducing the likelihood of reherniation.

Made of flexible polymer, the device is held in place by a titanium anchor and physically blocks the hole that remains in the repaired disc following discectomy. Intrinsic Therapeutics has put Barricaid through several years of rigorous FDA screening and research. In a clinical trial with over 550 patients, the Barricaid device was found to significantly lower rates of symptomatic recurrences. Throughout its 2 years of testing, Barricaid subjects received a total of 29 reoperations, compared to 61 reoperations in control subjects. The results of this study appeared in The Spine Journal in May 2018.