Medtronic has entered a deal to acquire SPR Therapeutics, a Cleveland-based company whose flagship product delivers short-term electrical nerve stimulation for chronic pain patients, for approximately $650 million in cash.
The deal would add SPR’s FDA-cleared SPRINT Peripheral Nerve Stimulation System to the Irish medtech giant’s already broad pain therapy portfolio. The SPRINT system works by threading a hair-thin wire called a MicroLead beneath the skin near a targeted nerve and connecting it to a wearable external pulse generator that delivers gentle electrical stimulation for up to 60 days before the lead is withdrawn.
For Medtronic, the acquisition addresses an acknowledged gap in its pain lineup: a minimally invasive option that can intervene before patients progress to the point of needing a permanent implant.
The company’s Neuromodulation unit, part of its broader Neuroscience Portfolio, already markets several implantable spinal cord stimulation systems, most notably the Inceptiv closed-loop SCS system, which received FDA clearance in April 2024 and has emerged as a growth driver. Inceptiv senses the body’s neural responses up to 50 times per second and automatically adjusts stimulation output.
But spinal cord stimulation requires surgery, a trial period and, ultimately, implantation of a permanent device—a path many chronic pain patients either cannot take or are reluctant to begin. SPR’s temporary approach offers a less invasive alternative.
“Our purpose first and foremost is to serve patients,” said Domenico De Paolis, interim president of Medtronic’s Neuromodulation business, in a May 20 release. “That is why we continue to thoughtfully expand our pain intervention therapies. The addition of temporary peripheral nerve stimulation helps broaden access to neuromodulation and supports patients across more stages of the chronic pain journey with a minimally invasive therapy.”
Related
The timing reflects both growing clinical adoption of percutaneous PNS and a broader shift in how payers and physicians approach chronic pain, a condition affecting roughly 50 million U.S. adults.
The opioid crisis has put persistent pressure on the healthcare system to identify nonpharmacological alternatives. Peripheral nerve stimulation has benefited directly, with expanding Medicare and commercial reimbursement coverage helping drive adoption of SPR’s system and others in recent years.
Analyst estimates for the global peripheral nerve stimulators market vary depending on how the category is defined, but most forecasts place the market between roughly $300 million and $700 million in the mid-2020s, with projected annual growth rates generally ranging from about 5% to 11% through the early 2030s.
SPR’s SPRINT system occupies a distinctive niche within that space. Unlike conventional permanent PNS systems, the device is FDA-cleared for both chronic and acute pain, including postoperative and post-traumatic pain, through a temporary percutaneous approach that does not require a permanent implant. The leads are placed in an outpatient setting and withdrawn after the 60-day treatment period concludes.
In the largest published retrospective review of real-world peripheral nerve stimulation data to date, more than 71% of the 6,160 patients treated with SPR Therapeutics’ SPRINT system experienced at least 50% pain relief or improvement in quality of life following the 60-day percutaneous treatment, according to a 2023 study published in Pain Physician. Prospective studies of the SPRINT peripheral nerve stimulation system have shown that some patients maintained clinically meaningful pain relief for at least 12 months after completing the 60-day treatment.
“Guided by our credo of advancing meaningful, patient-centered innovation in pain medicine, our agreement with Medtronic marks a pivotal step forward,” said Maria E. Bennett, SPR’s president and CEO. “Together, we will reach more patients, helping them find relief earlier in their care journey so they can reclaim their lives and get back to what matters most.”
Medtronic expects the transaction to close in the first half of its fiscal year 2027, which began April 25.
