Implantican RefluxStop® herätti suurta innostusta American Foregut Society -kokouksessa Yhdysvalloissa ennen FDA:n odotettua hyväksyntää.
Lääketeknologiayhtiö Implantica esitteli happorefluksin hoitoon kehitettyä RefluxStop®-implanttiaan AFS:n vuosikokouksessa Dallasissa, jossa yli 600 johtavaa kirurgia ja gastroenterologia osoitti vahvaa kiinnostusta laitetta kohtaan. Erityisesti RefluxStop®-paneelikeskustelu veti paikalle lähes kaksinkertaisen määrän osallistujia suunniteltuun nähden.
Laite on FDA-hyväksyntäprosessin loppuvaiheessa, ja Implantica valmistautuu jo Yhdysvaltain markkinoille tuontiin rakentamalla infrastruktuuria, varastoja ja tiimejä. RefluxStop® eroaa perinteisistä refluksileikkauksista, koska se ei ympäröi ruokatorvea, mikä vähentää haittavaikutuksia. Menetelmä noudattaa American Foregut Societyn suosittelemia nykyaikaisia anti-refluksiperiaatteita.
Kokouksessa useat alan huippuasiantuntijat – mm. Dr. John Lipham (USC), Prof. Peter Kahrilas (Northwestern), Dr. Tripp Buckley (UT Austin), Prof. Sebastian Schoppmann (Wien) ja Dr. Moustafa Elshafei (Saksa) – toivat esiin laitteen lupaavat pitkän aikavälin kliiniset tulokset ja innovaatiivisen toimintamekanismin.
Implantican perustaja ja toimitusjohtaja Dr. Peter Forsell korosti happorefluksin valtavaa kansanterveysongelmaa: pelkästään Yhdysvalloissa siitä kärsii 73 miljoonaa ihmistä. Hän uskoo, että RefluxStop®:lla on erinomaiset edellytykset nousta ensisijaiseksi hoitomenetelmäksi sekä Yhdysvalloissa ,että maailmanlaajuisesti.

Implantica’s RefluxStop® sparks strong excitement at the American Foregut Society meeting, ahead of pending US FDA approval
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 over 1 billion sufferers, announces RefluxStop® was met with great enthusiasm and positive feedback among 600+ attendees at the 2025 American Foregut Society (AFS) Annual Meeting, further accelerating US pre-launch readiness.
Anticipation for RefluxStop® in the US reached a fever pitch last week as the nation’s top foregut surgeons and gastroenterologists gathered in Dallas for the AFS Annual Meeting. Even though the US launch is yet to come, RefluxStop® was the topic of much sought-after independent presentations by the most esteemed surgeons. In addition, the dynamic RefluxStop® educational panel discussion attracted nearly 120 top surgeons and GI experts, well above the planned capacity, packing the room with great excitement to learn more about RefluxStop®.
As the third and final module of the PMA application nears completion, we see a massive wave of interest emerging from surgeons in the US and worldwide, also witnessed at AFS. Accordingly, Implantica has started to build the necessary infrastructure, inventory, resources, and launch teams to deliver a speedy US rollout upon the PMA approval.
Dr. John Lipham, USC Chief of the Division of Upper GI and General Surgery and Associate Professor of Surgery at the Keck School of Medicine and Past President of AFS moderated the well-attended RefluxStop® panel discussion where the excitement was palpable. The panel featured a lively discussion of the long-term data outcomes and the unique mechanism of action of the RefluxStop® procedure for treatment of acid reflux/GERD with an implant that does not encircle the esophagus.
Dr. Lipham says, “I am very excited for RefluxStop as it comes closer to receiving FDA approval, given the impressive 5-year clinical study results consistent with real-world data from Europe. The way it treats GERD is an innovative approach that is aligned with the latest scientific principles of the Anti-Reflux Barrier (ARB) recommended by the American Foregut Society.”
Dr. Lipham continues, “The AFS’s ARB approach not only focuses on the lower esophageal sphincter but also restores the other critical components of the body’s natural anti-reflux barrier, as is the case with the RefluxStop treatment approach. The RefluxStop does not encircle the esophagus, thus minimizing the side effects commonly associated with traditional anti-reflux surgeries.”
The panel included experts:
Dr. John Lipham, USC Chief of the Division of Upper GI and General Surgery and Associate Professor of Surgery at the Keck School of Medicine, Past President of AFS, served as the Foregut Cancer Program Director and Chief of USC Affiliated Academic Programs of Orange County
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Dr. Peter Kahrilas, Professor of Medicine at Northwestern University
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Dr. Tripp Buckley, Director of the Center for Heartburn & Esophageal Disorders Surgeon, Professor of Surgery at University of Texas at Austin
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Professor of Surgery, Sebastian Schoppmann, MD, F.A.C.S., Head, Upper GI Service at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria, and
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Dr. med. Moustafa Elshafei, Chief of General and Visceral Surgery at St. Elisabethen Hospital, Germany
Founder and CEO of Implantica, Dr. Peter Forsell adds, “I’m grateful for the dedication of independent surgeons like Prof. Schoppmann and Dr. med. Elshafei, who chose to collect and report RefluxStop® clinical data. Their profound work makes a big difference as we usher in a new generation of anti-reflux surgery with RefluxStop® leading the way.”
Dr. Forsell continues, “Today, 73 million in the US suffer from acid reflux/GERD, it’s a very serious issue with an urgent need for innovative solutions like the RefluxStop® procedure. I am impressed by the enthusiastic welcome RefluxStop® has received from the AFS audience, made up of top US surgeons and gastroenterologists. With excellent long-term clinical outcomes of the RefluxStop® procedure, and such massive interest and demand from US and international surgeons, we feel confident that RefluxStop® has great potential to become the preferred treatment for GERD in the US and the rest of the world.”