Pelvalon’s Eclipse System Named Gold Edison Award Winner

New, Non-Surgical Therapy for Immediate Bowel Control in Women Recognized for Innovation

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pelvalon, a medical device company dedicated to developing innovative solutions for women suffering from loss of bowel control, today announced that the company’s Eclipse™ System has been recognized with a Gold 2016 Award in the Women’s Health and Wellbeing category by the internationally renowned Edison Awards™.

“Our judges were impressed by Pelvalon’s elegant solution to a difficult and surprisingly common medical condition.”

The awards, inspired by Thomas Edison’s persistence and inventiveness, recognize innovation, creativity and ingenuity in the global economy. Award winners were announced last night at the Edison Awards Annual Gala held in the historic Ballroom of the Capitale in New York City. Edison Award nominees are judged by more than 3,000 senior business executives and academics from across the nation.

“The Edison Awards recognize game-changing products and services and the teams that brought them to consumers,” said Frank Bonafilia, Edison Awards’ executive director. “Our judges were impressed by Pelvalon’s elegant solution to a difficult and surprisingly common medical condition.”

“It is an honor to be included in this prestigious group of innovators and inventors, from so many diverse fields,” said Miles Rosen, co-founder and CEO of Pelvalon. “We are pleased that our technology has been recognized by the Edison Award judges with the gold award. We hope this award will shed additional light on accidental bowel leakage, a common condition in active women that has been undertreated due to limitations in treatments.”

More than 20 million women in the U.S. suffer from loss of bowel control, sometimes called accidental bowel leakage (ABL) or fecal incontinence (FI). This debilitating condition can be caused by pregnancy, childbirth, nerve or muscle damage in the pelvic region, and gastrointestinal disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). Sometimes women will feel a strong urge to have a bowel movement; other times, leakage can occur without warning. Typical first-line treatments include dietary changes, exercise and medications. If the issue persists, patients may need to move on to more invasive and costly treatments, such as surgery, surgical implants, or injections. The Eclipse System provides a new, non-surgical option for these women.

The Eclipse System is the first vaginal insert designed to provide immediate bowel control. Placed in the same location as a tampon or a diaphragm, the insert contains no hormones or drugs and can be removed at any time. In a clinical trial of women who used the insert for one month, Eclipse was effective in 86% of those successfully fit with the insert. The most common adverse event was discomfort, most frequently associated with the fitting process and typically resolved by just removing the insert. At the end of the study, 96% of participants successfully fit with the insert found the Eclipse to be comfortable, and 98% reported that they would recommend it to a friend.

Pelvalon recently announced limited U.S. commercial availability of the system following U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 510(k) clearance for the company’s next-generation device.

About Pelvalon

Headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, privately held Pelvalon aims to improve the lives of women who suffer from bowel control problems. Founded in 2010, Pelvalon’s groundbreaking technology originated from Stanford University’s Biodesign program, a collaboration between the schools of medicine and engineering. For more information visit www.eclipsesystem.com.

About The Edison Awards

The Edison Awards is a program conducted by Edison Universe, a 501(c)(3) charitable organization dedicated to fostering future innovators. For more information about the Edison Awards, Edison Universe and a list of past winners, visit www.edisonawards.com.