Neuromodulation for urological indications, notably overactive bladder (OAB), has been dominated since the late 1990s by Medtronic’s sacral-nerve stimulation system InterStim, with the more recent addition of Cogentix Medical’s Urgent PC for tibial nerve stimulation. Yet only a fraction of OAB patients receive effective neuromodulation treatment, and several companies hope to lower barriers to this modality by developing alternative devices for urological indications.

The US Congress this week agreed to keep the FDA and other government agencies funded at fiscal-year 2019 levels, extending the continuing resolution another four weeks until 20 December.

MD Anderson Cancer Center chief medical officer Stephen Hahn fielded a number of questions senators asked at his 20 November confirmation hearing to lead the US FDA. Chief among them were inquiries about his government experience level, whether he would expedite a ban on electrical stimulation devices used against the intellectually disabled, and how he would address a shortage of molybdenum-99 used in advanced imaging scans.