EnteroMedics Announces vBloc Therapy to be Presented by Keynote Speaker at Major International Obesity Conference

ST. PAUL, Minn., June 21, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- EnteroMedics Inc. (NASDAQ:ETRM), the developer of medical devices to treat obesity, metabolic diseases and other gastrointestinal disorders, today announced that Scott Shikora, M.D, F.A.C.S., F.A.S.M.B.S., the Company's Consulting Medical Director, Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School and Director of the Center for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, will present information about the Company's vBloc^® Neurometabolic Therapy as part of a presentation on neuromodulation for the treatment of obesity. The presentation will take place at the upcoming XIX International Congress of Surgery for Obesity and Metabolic Diseases, June 28-July 1, Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

"It is an honor to present important information about the role of neuromodulation in the treatment of obesity at the XIX International Congress of Surgery for Obesity and Metabolic Diseases," said Dr. Shikora. "vBloc Therapy is the first and only anatomy-preserving, minimally invasive neuromodulation device which uses blocking therapy for the effective and safe treatment of obesity."

The vBloc System works to control sensations of hunger using a pacemaker-like device that is implanted under the skin during a safe, minimally invasive procedure that does not alter or remove any patient anatomy. The device can be adjusted to optimize patients' therapy needs and works to give the patient a sensation of fullness, empowering them to eat less, control their appetite, and lose weight. Studies have shown that vBloc Therapy produces meaningful weight loss in patients as well as meaningful improvements in related comorbidity factors, such as hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), without the major lifestyle implications of traditional weight-loss surgeries.

"Obesity remains a serious health condition that, if left untreated, can have a significant negative impact on a person's livelihood as well as lead to additional medical issues including Type 2 diabetes and hypertension," said Dan Gladney, EnteroMedics' President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board. "vBloc Therapy is a proven cutting-edge treatment that not only helps patients lose weight, but also provides a positive impact on these serious comorbid conditions. Presentations at major conferences provide valuable opportunities to educate bariatric surgeons on an international scale, showcasing the body of evidence accumulated on this novel approach for the treatment of obesity."

vBloc Therapy is approved for use in helping with weight loss in people aged 18 years and older who are obese, with a BMI of 40 to 45 kg/m², or a BMI of 35 to 39.9 kg/m² with a related health condition such as Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels or obstructive sleep apnea who have had a poor response to trying to lose weight under supervision in the last 5 years.

About EnteroMedics Inc.

EnteroMedics is a medical device company focused on the development and commercialization of technology to treat obesity and metabolic diseases. vBloc® Neurometabolic Therapy, delivered by an FDA-approved pacemaker-like device called the vBloc® System, is designed to help patients feel full and eat less by intermittently blocking hunger signals on the vagus nerve. EnteroMedics recently acquired the Gastric Vest System™ through its acquisition of BarioSurg, Inc. The Gastric Vest is an investigational, minimally invasive, laparoscopically implanted medical device being studied for weight loss in morbidly obese patients. The device wraps around the stomach, emulating the effect of conventional weight-loss surgery, and enables gastric volume reduction without permanently changing patient anatomy.

Information about the vBloc® System and vBloc® Neurometabolic Therapy

You should not have an implanted vBloc® System if you have cirrhosis of the liver, high blood pressure in the veins of the liver, enlarged veins in your esophagus or a significant hiatal hernia of the stomach; if you need magnetic resonance imaging (MRI); if you have a permanently implanted, electrical medical device; or if you need a diathermy procedure using heat. The most common related adverse events that were experienced during clinical study of the vBloc System included pain, heartburn, nausea, difficulty swallowing, belching, wound redness or irritation, and constipation.

Talk with your doctor about the full risks and benefits of vBloc Therapy and vBloc System. For additional prescribing information, please visit www.enteromedics.com.

If you are interested in learning more about vBloc Neurometabolic Therapy, please visit www.vbloc.com or call 1-800-MY-VBLOC.

Forward-Looking Safe Harbor Statement:

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of words such as "expect," "plan," "anticipate," "could," "may," "intend," "will," "continue," "future," other words of similar meaning and the use of future dates. These forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations of our management and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among others: our limited history of operations; our losses since inception and for the foreseeable future; our limited commercial sales experience with our vBloc® System for the treatment of obesity in the United States or in any foreign market other than Australia and the European Community; the competitive industry in which we operate; our ability to maintain compliance with the Nasdaq continued listing requirements; our ability to commercialize our vBloc® System; our dependence on third parties to initiate and perform our clinical trials; the need to obtain regulatory approval for any modifications to our vBloc® System; physician adoption of our vBloc® System and vBloc® Neurometabolic Therapy; our ability to obtain third party coding, coverage or payment levels; ongoing regulatory compliance; our dependence on third party manufacturers and suppliers; the successful development of our sales and marketing capabilities; our ability to raise additional capital when needed; international commercialization and operation; our ability to attract and retain management and other personnel and to manage our growth effectively; potential product liability claims; the cost and management time of operating a public company; potential healthcare fraud and abuse claims; healthcare legislative reform; and our ability to obtain and maintain intellectual property protection for our technology and products. These and additional risks and uncertainties are described more fully in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, particularly those factors identified as "risk factors" in the annual report on Form 10-K filed March 8, 2017 and quarterly report on Form 10-Q filed May 15, 2017. We are providing this information as of the date of this press release and do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this document as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE EnteroMedics Inc.

Related Links

http://www.enteromedics.com