VADUZ, Liechtenstein, May 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Implantica AG (publ.), a medtech company at the forefront of introducing advanced technology into the body, including the innovative RefluxStop device for the treatment of acid reflux, a treatment field with 1 billion sufferers, announces breakthrough long-term data from Inselspital in Bern, the largest university hospital in Switzerland, demonstrating excellent safety and efficacy in complex patients, including aperistalsis and lung transplant recipients.
Dr. med. Yves Borbély of the Department of Visceral Surgery and Medicine at Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, Switzerland, presented strong long-term outcomes for RefluxStop at Digestive Disease Week (DDW) 2026 in Chicago. Inselspital in Bern is Switzerland's most renowned university hospital, and Dr. Borbély is recognized as one of the pioneering RefluxStop surgeons.
The data presented included 82 RefluxStop patients followed for up to 7.25 years (September 2018 to February 2025), with 50% of patients reaching four years of follow-up. The long-term outcomes demonstrated excellent safety and clinical efficacy, with minimal side effects and results broadly consistent with previously reported excellent RefluxStop clinical data.
Importantly, this study also included patients with severe and complex conditions, such as lung transplant patients and patients with aperistalsis in which the esophagus fails to contract, major unmet medical needs that have historically had limited or poor treatment options. According to the data presented, all 6% of the patients with aperistalsis and long-term follow-up experienced substantial improvement or complete symptom resolution following treatment with RefluxStop.
This has larger implications, since patients with long-term acid reflux often develop a damaged esophagus, which may lead to reduced food transportation ability. Among the patients treated, an additional 57% had reduced food transportation indicating that the esophagus had been weakened by long-term acid exposure and severe disease.
"The RefluxStop long-term outcomes are highly encouraging, even in patient groups where treatment alternatives have historically been inadequate, such as long-term severe sufferers," said Dr. Yves Borbély.
The study also included lung transplant recipients, estimated to be a few thousand per year in the U.S., representing a particularly vulnerable population because acid reflux can critically affect lung function and transplant outcomes. Dr. Borbély reported successful treatment of the first three lung transplant patients, including one prior to the RefluxStop procedure.
These findings may have much broader implications for significantly larger patient populations suffering from pulmonary diseases where acid reflux can contribute to ongoing lung damage. In the U.S. alone, approximately 3 million people suffer from emphysema and approximately 14 million from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in the U.S., patient groups that may potentially benefit from improved reflux management.
Dr. Peter Forsell, founder and CEO of Implantica said, "These findings further strengthen the growing body of evidence supporting RefluxStop also for severe acid reflux disease. We are particularly encouraged by the strong long-term outcomes in highly complex patient populations where current treatment alternatives are insufficient. We view the RefluxStop TAM (targeted addressable market) to be potentially tenfold higher than current surgical solutions, and we look forward to an expansive U.S. launch, pending FDA approval."
For further information, please contact:
Nicole Pehrsson, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer
Telephone (CH): +41 (0) 43 505 20 57
nicole.pehrsson@implantica.com
Implantica is listed on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market in Stockholm.
The company's Certified Adviser is FNCA Sweden AB, info@fnca.se
The information was sent for publication, through the agency of the contact person set out above, on May 19, 2026, at 08:01 a.m. (CEST).
About Implantica
Implantica is a medtech group dedicated to bringing advanced technology into the body. Implantica's lead product, RefluxStop, is a CE-marked implant for the prevention of gastroesophageal reflux that will potentially create a paradigm shift in anti-reflux treatment as supported by successful clinical trial results. Implantica also focuses on eHealth inside the body and has developed a broad, patent protected, product pipeline based partly on two platform technologies: an eHealth platform designed to monitor a broad range of health parameters, control treatment from inside the body and communicate to the caregiver on distance and a wireless energizing platform designed to power remote-controlled implants wirelessly through intact skin. Implantica is listed on Nasdaq First North Premier Growth Market (ticker: IMP A SDB). Visit www.implantica.com for further information.
About RefluxStop
RefluxStop is a new innovative treatment that has the potential to spur a paradigm shift in anti-reflux surgery. It's unique mechanism of action differentiates it from standard of care and current surgical solutions. Longer established surgical options for GORD involve encircling the food passageway to support the lower oesophageal sphincter's closing mechanism and are commonly associated with side effects such as swallowing difficulties, pain when swallowing and inability to belch and/or vomit.
In contrast, the RefluxStop device treats the cause of acid reflux without encircling and putting pressure on the food passageway. It restores and maintains the lower oesophageal sphincter in its original, natural position.
The RefluxStop mechanism of action is focused on reconstructing all three components of the anti-reflux barrier, that if compromised could possibly result in acid reflux. It restores and supports the natural anatomical physiology of the body allowing the body to itself solve the problem with acid reflux.
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