Avation Medical Hires New Executive to Market the Vivally System

Avation Medical has named Jennifer Estep as vice president of Product Marketing and Customer Care for its newly launched Vivally System, the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration-cleared non-invasive, physiological closed-loop neuromodulation tool to treat overactive bladder (OAB). Estep will play a pivotal role in expanding awareness and differentiating Vivally from other treatment options that require surgery, drugs, or needles.  

“As a mechanical engineer, with deep experience in product design, development, marketing, and commercialization, Jennifer brings broad and deep perspective to all aspects of our organization,” Avation Medical Founder/CEO Jill Schiaparelli said. 

Over the past decade, Estep has held leadership positions in the medtech and pharmaceutical industries, building and leading high-impact teams to bring patient-centric products to market. Most recently, she was senior director of Global Marketing and Commercial Strategy at Enable Injections Inc.

“I’ve led the successful commercialization for first-in-kind products that improve the lives of patients,” Estep stated. “ Vivally has great opportunity to solve the unmet need and improve the lives of the 46 million people in the U.S. looking for a non-invasive, drug-free, convenient treatment that works. Being part of such a major technology advancement aligns with my passion of helping patients.”

Schiaparelli said Estep will accelerate the marketing of Vivally, which is already gaining traction with OAB specialists and patients. “OAB is a chronic condition, yet nearly 90 percent of patients drop out of the care pathway after just two years because their choices are invasive and inconvenient; we see a significant opportunity to make a positive difference in people’s lives with a non-invasive neuromodulation therapy.”

The Vivally System is a next-generation, at-home wearable neuromodulation therapy that is discreet, comfortable, and easy to use. Urology teams collaborate with their patients through online diaries and individualized data to validate, treat, and monitor symptoms for optimal patient success. Clinicians can increase the number of patients they are able to effectively treat while reducing the cost of care, thus positively impacting patients, their practices, and the healthcare system overall. Using proprietary algorithms and electromyographical (EMG) sensors, Vivally continuously reads the patients EMG signal and automatically adjusts the level of stimulation energy being delivered to a patient’s tibial nerve to ensure optimal, customized therapy in a real-time, closed-loop system. Worn on the ankle, Vivally is used by patients at home for therapy sessions lasting only 30 minutes as little as once per week. 

In two multi-center randomized clinical trials, the Vivally System was shown to significantly reduce daily void, incontinence, and urgency episodes and improve patient quality of life while facilitating an 89% therapy compliance rate. Symptom reduction was demonstrated out to one year, even with decreasing therapy frequency over time.

Avation Medical is a neuromodulation and digital health company with a mission to make non-invasive, physiologic closed-loop neuromodulation accessible to patients across a variety of clinical conditions. The company’s Vivally System offers a comprehensive therapy and support system for patients suffering from urge urinary incontinence and urinary urgency caused by OAB. Vivally is prescribed by a clinician following a brief clinical calibration which establishes an EMG target and range of neuromodulation energy needed for consistent nerve activation. Vivally delivers clinically effective therapy in just 30-minute sessions, as little as once per week. Vivally is available by prescription in select geographies in the United States.