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A. History and Development of the Company
Our legal and commercial name is BrainsWay Ltd. We are a public company that was incorporated under the laws of the State of Israel in November 2006. We completed our initial public offering on the TASE on January 4, 2007, and on April 16, 2019 we completed the listing of the ADSs on The Nasdaq Global Market. Our Ordinary Shares are currently listed on the TASE under the symbol “BWAY”, and the ADSs are currently listed on The Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol “BWAY”. Our Israel-based principal executive offices are located at 16 Hartum Street, RAD Tower, 14th Floor, Har HaHotzvim, Jerusalem 9777516, Israel, and our telephone number is +972-2-582-4030. We also have U.S. offices located in Boston and plan to move to New Jersey.
The Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, maintains
an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically
with the SEC at http://sec.gov.
Our web site address is http://www.brainsway.com. Information
contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website does not constitute a part of this Annual Report.
Our capital expenditures for the years ended December 31,
2025, 2024, and 2023 were approximately $2.3 million, $3.8 million and $2.3 million, respectively. Our current capital expenditures primarily
involve purchase of equipment and system components in both Israel and the United States. Our research and development costs for the years
ended December 31, 2025, 2024, and 2023 amounted to $9.6 million, $7.2 million and $6.7 million, respectively. These research and development
costs primarily consisted of expenses incurred in connection with the development of our existing and future indication pipeline, and
the development of our Deep TMS system. We expect our capital expenditures and research and development costs to remain significant as
we continue our research and development efforts and advance our existing and planned clinical pipeline, in the United States and other
strategic markets. We anticipate our capital expenditures and research and development costs in 2026 to be financed from our existing
cash and cash equivalents, including the proceeds from the private placement of ADSs and warrants that closed on November 5, 2024, and
from our ongoing sales and leases of our Deep TMS systems. For the near future, our investments will mainly remain in the United States
and Israel, where our operations and research and development facilities are currently located.
During the year ended December 31, 2025, we entered into several
investment and funding transactions with MSOs and into the Neurolief Transaction. For more information see below under “The Neurolief
Transaction” and “MSO Holdings and Transactions”, respectively.
B. Business Overview
BrainsWay is a global leader in advanced noninvasive
neurostimulation treatments for mental health disorders. The Company is boldly advancing neuroscience with its proprietary Deep Transcranial
Magnetic Stimulation (Deep TMS™) platform technology to improve health and transform lives. We are dedicated to leading through
superior science and building on what we believe to be an unparalleled body of clinical evidence. We are the first and only TMS company
to be cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for three separate mental health disorder indications based on clinically
proven efficacy as demonstrated in pivotal randomized placebo- controlled studies. Current indications include major depressive disorder
(MDD) (including reduction of comorbid anxiety symptoms, commonly referred to as anxious depression), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD),
and smoking addiction.
We have also received CE Mark for a variety of psychiatric
and neurological indications. We are focused on increasing global awareness of and broad access to Deep TMS. Deep TMS uses magnetic pulses
to stimulate neurons and consequently modulates the physiological activity of the brain. Our technology can either increase brain activity
in neuronal networks which are hypoactive, or alternatively decrease brain activity in neuronal networks which are hyperactive. Our proprietary
electromagnetic coils, which we refer to as H-Coils, are designed to safely stimulate deep and broad brain regions, which we believe
provides an advantage over other available TMS products, which we refer to collectively as Traditional TMS, that generally use a “figure
8” design. In the United States, we sell our Deep TMS system for the treatment of MDD (including reduction of comorbid anxiety
symptoms, commonly referred to as anxious depression) and OCD and have also been marketing our products for the treatment of smoking
addictions since 2023. We believe that our Deep TMS technology has the potential to be safe and effective for the treatment of a wide
range of additional psychiatric, neurological, and addiction disorders. Additional clinical trials of Deep TMS in various psychiatric,
neurological, and addiction disorders are underway or planned.
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MDD is a common and debilitating mental disorder characterized
by physiological symptoms, such as sleep disturbance and changes in appetite, emotional symptoms, such as sadness, despair, emptiness,
self-hate, and critique, and cognitive symptoms, such as difficulty concentrating, memory dysfunction, suicidal thinking, and faulty judgment
of reality. According to a 2018 study cited by the World Health Organization (WHO), depression affects approximately 300 million people
worldwide, with the rate of depression increasing in developed countries. The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) estimates
that 21.0 million adults in the United States suffer from a major depressive episode in 2021. Based on 2006-2007 data from the Sequenced
Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) study, we estimate that approximately 7 million adult MDD patients in the United
States are considered treatment-resistant (i.e., do not achieve remission after four trials of anti-depressant medication), of which we
estimate that approximately 6.3 million or more are currently eligible to receive reimbursement for Deep TMS from either governmental
or private insurers. Assuming a course of treatment per patient (under the standard of care protocol) of 33 treatment sessions and a price
paid to us per treatment session of $70 (which has historically served as our benchmark price per treatment session), we believe our total
annual addressable market opportunity for MDD in the United States is approximately $14.6 billion.
Comorbid anxiety symptoms are common in patients with major
depressive disorder. Between sixty and ninety percent of patients with depression have moderate to severe anxiety. As noted above, in
the United States, an estimated 21.0 million adults experienced at least one major depressive episode in 2021. Therefore, considering
the rate of comorbidity, we estimate that 12.6 to 18.9 million adults experience moderate to severe anxiety in addition to their primary
diagnosis of depression. Common anxiety symptoms include nervousness, feelings of panic, increased heart rate, rapid breathing, sweating,
insomnia, trembling, and difficulty focusing or thinking clearly. The economic burden in the United States for major depressive disorder
totaled $333 billion per year between 2010 and 2018.
OCD is a common, chronic, and long-lasting disorder in which a person has uncontrollable, reoccurring
thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions) that he or she feels the urge to repeat over and over in a manner that can interfere
with all aspects of life, such as work, school, and personal relationships. Based on data from the NIMH, we estimate that approximately
3.24 million adults in the United States suffer from OCD annually (nimh.nih.gov, citing 1.2% prevalence of OCD among adults age 18 and
above). We believe that approximately half of the patients (1.62 million) that have sought help would be considered treatment-resistant
(i.e., not having achieved ≥30% improvement of their symptoms from medications and psychotherapy). Assuming our emerging OCD coverage
ultimately reaches target of 90% of adults in the United States covered by private health insurance (as with MDD), and assuming a course
of treatment per patient of 29 treatment sessions and a price paid to us per treatment session of $70 (which is our benchmark price per
treatment session), we believe our total addressable market opportunity for OCD in the United States is approximately $2.9 billion.
Smoking is one of the leading causes of death in
developed countries. The addiction to nicotine, similar to the addiction to drugs and alcohol, involves modulation of the brain
reward system and causes uncontrollable desire to smoke. 480,000 U.S. adults die from smoking each year. Cigarette smoking has been
found to harm nearly every organ system in the body and is the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. and of disease burden
worldwide (Rostron, BL, Chang CM, Pechacek TF. Estimation of cigarette smoking-attributable morbidity in the United States, JAMA
Intern Med. 2014;174(12):1922-1928). According to the CDC, approximately 28.8 million U.S. adults smoked cigarettes in 2022
(https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/campaign/tips/resources/data/cigarette-smoking-in-united-states.html), with 67.7% stating they want to
quit and 53% actually attempting to quit. Of those attempting to quit, 5.9 million made a serious attempt to quit (i.e., using
medication or counseling). Of those smokers attempting to quit either with or without medical assistance, 2.5 million were
successful
(https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/php/data-statistics/smoking-cessation/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/cessation/smoking-cessation-fast-facts/index.html).
Reimbursement is not currently available for Deep TMS for smoking addiction, and it is therefore difficult to assess the amount of
money our customers might be able to collect from potential payors, and willing to pay us, for treatment for this indication. That
said, assuming a course of treatment per patient of 18 treatment sessions, and assuming an average price paid to us per treatment
session of $50, we believe our total annual addressable market opportunity for smoking addiction in the United States is over $3.0
billion.
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Our first commercial H1 Coil Deep TMS product received clearance from the FDA in 2013 for the treatment
of MDD in adult patients who have failed to achieve satisfactory improvement from anti-depressant medication in the current episode. Our
pivotal trial for MDD demonstrated statistically significant response and remission rates of 38.4% and 32.6%, respectively, in week five
of Deep TMS treatment of 20 minutes per session, compared to 21.4% and 14.6%, respectively, after sham treatment. Our Deep TMS system
for MDD is currently marketed to and installed at psychiatrists’ offices and other facilities principally in the United States and
in certain other countries throughout the world.
Additionally, in April 2021, we received FDA clearance
for a shorter 3-minute “Theta-Burst” protocol for our MDD treatment. In support of our successful application to the FDA for
this protocol, we submitted safety and efficacy data from 146 subjects who had received either the standard Deep TMS protocol or Theta
Burst Deep TMS. Clearance was obtained after it was demonstrated that subjects in both groups experienced a statistically and clinically
meaningful reduction in depression scores, and the results met the equivalence criteria needed for clearance of the shorter treatment.
We believe that certain patients and providers can benefit from these shorter treatment sessions and that this protocol has the potential
to expand access to care by providing patients with added flexibility in selecting courses of treatment that may fit better with their
lifestyle.
In August 2021, the FDA cleared an expansion of our existing
MDD clearance to include the noninvasive treatment of anxiety symptoms among subjects with MDD, commonly referred to as anxious depression.
In support of our application for this labeling expansion, we demonstrated statistically significant results from three randomized controlled
trials and open label studies which found favorable outcomes with Deep TMS when compared to sham or medication as a standard of care.
The data from the three randomized controlled trials studies of Deep TMS demonstrated effect sizes ranging from 0.34 (when compared to
sham) to 0.90 (when compared to medication).
In August 2022, based on a randomized, double-blind, controlled
multicenter, non-inferiority study of our H1 and H7 Coils, the Company’s MDD clearance, which had previously applied to its H1 Coil,
was extended to also apply to its H7 Coil. The Deep TMS H7 Coil had been previously cleared for use in treating obsessive-compulsive disorder
since 2018, and with this new clearance it can be marketed for the treatment of MDD (including anxious depression). The FDA’s grant
of clearance was based on its review of successful results from a randomized, double-blind, controlled multicenter trial completed by
the Company. The study, which included 144 subjects, found overall efficacy rates for the H7 Coil that were comparable to those achieved
with BrainsWay’s H1 Coil.
Following receipt of this clearance, a publication of the
study in The Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI) Insight included a retrospective analysis of the study results which identifies preliminary
predictors that could help optimize treatment based on individual patients’ attributes. This analysis examined clinician rating
scales and EEG data revealing intriguing differences between the patient treatment of the two coils. Categorizing patients according to
“clusters” of clinical depressive and anxiety baseline symptoms derived from a subset of the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale
(HDRS-21) resulted in two subject groups: One with higher severity of the cluster, which on average responded better to the H1 Coil, and
another with lower severity of the cluster, which on average responded better to the H7 Coil. This analysis also showed that brain activity
measured during the first treatment session correlated with the clinical outcomes ultimately achieved after the full course of treatment.
This finding suggests that specific brain patterns observed in an individual’s response to either coil during the early stages of
treatment might be predictive of the longer-term outcome of treatment with that coil.
In May 2024, the FDA cleared an expansion of our existing
MDD clearance allowing for the treatment of patients with late life depression. The expanded clearance covers MDD patients ages 22 to
86, changing the previous upper age limit of 68. This expanded clearance makes our Deep TMS the first and only form of TMS indicated for
the treatment of patients over the age of 68 suffering from MDD, including those with comorbid anxiety symptoms. Our application to the
FDA included study data showing, for example, that MDD patients over 68 years of age who were treated with our H1 Coil demonstrated 69%
and 62% response and remission rates, respectively, using the HDRS-21, and 65% and 35% response and remission rates, respectively, using
the self-administered Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9).
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In November 2025, the FDA cleared an expansion
of our existing MDD clearance allowing for the treatment of adolescent patients (ages 15-21) suffering from depression as an adjunct
therapy. Following this expansion, our expanded clearance covers MDD patients ages 15 to 86, changing the previous lower limit of 22.
This expanded clearance makes our Deep TMS the first and only form of TMS indicated for the treatment of patients within the range of
15-86 suffering from MDD, including those with comorbid anxiety symptoms. Our application to the FDA included study data collected from
1,120 adolescents (aged 15–21) treated across 35 TMS centers in the U.S. between 2012 and 2024. Data from high-frequency (18 Hz)
and iTBS (intermittent theta-burst) Deep TMS protocols were included. Using the self-administered Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)
rating scale, the results demonstrated, following 36 treatment sessions, an average improvement of 12.1 points and a 66.1% response rate
(defined as an improvement from baseline of 50% or greater). In addition, meaningful reductions in anxiety symptoms were observed using
the self-administered Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale, consistent with prior adult studies. Safety outcomes were consistent
with previous adult studies.
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In September 2025, the FDA cleared an expansion of the cleared treatment protocols for our Deep
TMS systems to include our SWIFT (Short-course with Intrinsic Field Targeting) accelerated protocol for the treatment of patients with
MDD, including those with comorbid anxiety symptoms. The expanded clearance protocol was based on clinical data from a multicenter, randomized,
blinded, controlled study titled, “Accelerated Deep TMS for Depression: Results from a Multisite, Randomized Non-Inferiority Trial,”
showing that the accelerated Deep TMS protocol using iTBS to treat patients with MDD resulted in outcomes that were comparable to the
standard protocol - while requiring considerably fewer visits to the clinic. For example, HDRS-21 depression scores, after statistical
adjustment, were reduced by 19.02 and 19.79 points in the accelerated and standard Deep TMS groups, respectively; and response and remission
rates were 87.8% and 78.0%, respectively, for the accelerated group, compared to response and remission rates of 87.5% and 87.5%, respectively,
for the standard group.
We were the first medical device company to offer an FDA-authorized
noninvasive treatment for OCD, the marketing authorization for which we received in August 2018 as an adjunct therapy for adult patients
suffering from OCD. Our pivotal trial for OCD demonstrated statistically significant response and partial response rates of 38.1% and
54.8%, respectively, after six weeks of daily active Deep TMS treatment of 19 minutes per session, compared to 11.1% and 26.7%, respectively,
after sham treatment. We remain the only company to have proven clinical efficacy for this indication based on a randomized, double-blind,
placebo-controlled, multicenter trial, and our competitors that have since obtained FDA clearance for this indication have done so in
part relying on our clinical data.
We are the first and only TMS company to offer an FDA-cleared
treatment for smoking addiction, which also represents the first FDA clearance for any TMS device in the addiction space. We received
this clearance from the FDA in August 2020 for use of our Deep TMS system as an aid in short-term smoking cessation in adults. Our pivotal
trial for smoking addiction demonstrated statistically significant results, with a 28.4% Continuous Quit Rate (CQR) – defined as
abstinence from smoking for any 4-week period during the study – achieved among patients who completed the full course of therapy,
compared with 11.7% of completers undergoing sham treatment.
We believe that Deep TMS represents a platform technology
with the potential to treat a variety of other psychiatric, neurological and addiction disorders. We are actively conducting and/or planning
clinical trials in new areas, including neurological and/or addiction disorders.
Our current customers are principally doctors, hospitals,
and medical centers in the field of psychiatry. Treatment with Deep TMS is typically performed as an office- based procedure using our
Deep TMS system, which consists of our proprietary H-Coil helmet, as well as several other components, including a stimulator, cooling
system, positioning arm and an operator interface. A course of treatment for MDD typically requires 20 treatment sessions five times a
week over a period of four weeks, and thereafter up to 24 additional maintenance-continuation sessions twice weekly over a period of up
to 12 weeks. The standard Deep TMS treatment protocol for OCD requires 29 treatment sessions over six weeks. A course of treatment for
smoking addiction typically requires 18 treatment sessions, comprised of treatment five times a week over a period of three weeks, followed
by treatment once per week for an additional three weeks. Each standard MDD, OCD or smoking addiction session lasts 20 minutes, 19 minutes,
and 18 minutes, respectively. For Deep TMS for MDD, the FDA has also cleared a 3 minute “Theta Burst” treatment protocol.
Patients may experience some discomfort during treatment and must use earplugs to reduce exposure to the loud sounds produced by the device.
The treatment requires no anesthesia, hospitalization or sedation, and no systemic side effects are associated with the therapy. The recently
cleared SWIFT, accelerated protocol, is comprised of an acute phase of 5 sessions per day for 6 days (over a 14-day period), followed
by 2 sessions per day once a week for 4 weeks, with each session lasting less than 10 minutes.
We estimate that over 90% of the total private
insurer adult covered lives in the United States have coverage for reimbursement of MDD treatment with Deep TMS. In addition, our
MDD treatment (including for reduction of anxiety symptoms, commonly referred to as anxious depression) with Deep TMS is eligible
for reimbursement from Medicare. Deep TMS treatment for MDD reimbursement coverage is generally available after between one and four
failed (inadequate response or intolerable) trials of anti-depressant medications. However, there is an increasing trend to reduce
the number of prior failed medication treatments required to qualify for coverage and thus to place Deep TMS for MDD earlier within
the continuum of care. We continue to see a majority of payers covering Deep TMS with inadequate or intolerable response to two
medication trials and are actively engaged in efforts to work with payors to facilitate a continuation of this trend.
Our efforts to increase the scope of insurance
coverage for MDD also continue to develop in alignment with the expanded labeling we have achieved for this indication: For example,
in December 2025, Optum Behavioral Health, a leading health services company with over 48 million covered lives through its network
of professionals and a part of UnitedHealth Group, expanded its medical policy applicable to Deep TMS therapy to include coverage
for adolescents aged 15 and older with a confirmed diagnosis of MDD. Similarly, in January 2026, Premera Blue Cross Blue
Shield®, a company with over 2.8 million covered lives serving Alaska and Washington state, adopted a new final
medical policy which, among other developments, expands coverage to include patients ages 15 and older with moderate to severe MDD
treated with our accelerated SWIFT™ (Short-course with Intrinsic Field Targeting) Deep TMS protocol.
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In 2021, for the first time, several payors issued policies
and coverage determinations allowing for reimbursement coverage applicable to Deep TMS for OCD, with over 86 million covered lives in
the U.S. eligible for coverage as of March 2024. Positive coverage decisions for Deep TMS for OCD have been issued by Centene Corporation
(with 26 million covered lives), Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC) (with 17 million covered lives), TriCare (with 9.6 million covered
lives), Cigna Corporation (with 17 million covered lives), Highmark (with 6.8 million covered lives), Premera (with 2.6 million covered
lives) and LifeWise (with 2.2 million covered lives). Additionally, one of the seven Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) in the
US, Palmetto GBA, has published its final Local Coverage Determination (LCD) in 2022 extending coverage applicable to Deep TMS treatment
for OCD. While the criteria for Deep TMS for OCD coverage varies with each payor, generally, coverage requires the failure of between
two and four medication trials before qualifying for reimbursement. Our strategy is to look for ways to facilitate increased coverage
for OCD treatment by more payors, including both commercial and governmental.
Reimbursement is not yet available for Deep TMS for smoking
addiction. In October 2023, the Clinical TMS Society (CTMSS), an influential peer group, published the first coverage recommendations
for TMS for smoking addiction.
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In Israel, in June 2022, for the first time the Israeli Ministry of Health has approved coverage
applicable to our Deep TMS system for the treatment of MDD. The inclusion of the treatment within Israel’s health basket of essential
medical services means that the country’s health funds must now make the treatment available to qualifying patients free of charge.
Qualifying patients include adults over the age of 21 with depression who either have not responded to two prior antidepressants or are
intolerant to other treatment alternatives. Coverage may be provided for up to 40 treatment sessions, which are to be administered in
hospitals. Moreover, in Australia, in November 2021, for the first time, coverage applicable to Deep TMS for MDD was granted for adults
over the age of 18. Coverage in Australia is available for 35 treatment sessions.
The United States is our primary and most strategic market,
representing approximately 85%, 81% and 75% of our revenues for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. We operate
in the United States through our wholly owned subsidiary, BrainsWay USA Inc, as a direct marketing and sales channel, where we currently
have existing sales, marketing, and support infrastructure. We generate revenue from various flexible pricing models that are designed
to maximize market penetration. For the year ended December 31, 2025, we generated revenues in the United States of $44.2 million, an
increase of 33% as compared to $33.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2024.
On a consolidated basis, we generated revenue from leasing, one of our two main categories of activity,
of $12.1 million, $14.5 million and $8.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Our revenue from
sales, our other main category of activity, was $35 million, $22.4 million, and $20.4 million for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024
and 2023, respectively. Our revenue from sale-related and other services, was $5 million, $4.1 million and $2.9 million for the years
ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively.
Our Deep TMS Platform
Our proprietary Deep TMS technology is intended for noninvasive
treatment of psychiatric, neurological, and addiction disorders. The system includes an H-Coil uniquely designed to transmit electric
current flows at varying rates, creating an electromagnetic field that serves to depolarize cortical neurons and activate neural networks
in certain areas of the brain in accordance with the operating frequency, with the effect of treating the disorder associated with that
area of the brain. Our innovative technology is capable of stimulating deeper and broader regions of the brain than any other commercially
available TMS product.
We have developed a number of H-Coils with differing configurations,
building upon our technology with important changes for each coil. For different regions of the brain which are known to be associated
with specific brain disorders, we offer different H-Coils that are designed to influence the neurological networks of those regions. For
example, we have two H-Coils, targeting different brain regions, that may be used for MDD (including anxious depression), one H-Coil used
for OCD, and one H- Coil used for smoking addiction. Some of our H-Coils are also able to treat more than one indication. The H-Coils
transmit pulses which are generated by a power supply, known as a stimulator. We developed our own proprietary stimulator that is more
advanced than our previously used third-party stimulator and improves our approved Deep TMS systems through its user-friendly software
interface and other features. We expanded our FDA clearances in MDD, OCD, and smoking addiction, which had previously applied to our older
model systems with third-party stimulators, to also include current systems which incorporate our proprietary stimulator. In addition,
we are currently developing and initiated clinical testing of our next generation multichannel device, which includes our patented “rotational
field” TMS or “Deep TMS 360°™” technology. The patented multichannel aspect of this technology allows for
simultaneous modulation of different areas of the brain with independent stimulation parameters, and the patented rotational field aspect
employs a method of stimulation that enables activation of a greater number of neurons in the brain via two orthogonal TMS coils which
are placed perpendicular to each other and operated with a time lag in order to induce a circularly rotating electric field. This enables
stimulation of neurons in various orientations, in contrast to currently available TMS devices which stimulate only neurons parallel to
the induced field. We recently launched several studies involving this device, including a randomized, placebo-controlled, multicenter
study on Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and several smaller feasibility studies (e.g. in OCD and post-stroke rehabilitation. Furthermore,
in an August 2024 article in the Brain Stimulation Journal, our first pilot data on the efficacy of our rotational field technology was
published. This feasibility study involved 12 depression patients and compared the efficacy of our rotational field helmet with that of
our H7-Coil. Albeit via a small sample size, the data demonstrated significantly greater improvement with the rotational field helmet
in the depressive symptoms as reflected by the HDRS-17 rating scale compared to the H7-Coil. We plan to further study the safety, efficacy
and various possible applications for this next generation technology and believe it has the potential to make our Deep TMS systems even
more attractive to clinicians, researchers and patients.
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Our Deep TMS system is comprised of the various key components, as illustrated below. Each system
can accommodate two helmets, and a third helmet can be incorporated using a separate auxiliary stand.
The key components of our Deep TMS system are:
● Helmet, including proprietary H-Coil
● Stimulator, which provides the power supply and source of the Deep TMS electromagnetic field
● Graphic User Interface (GUI)
● One or More Arm(s)/Positioning Device(s)
● Cooling System
● Movable Medical Cart
We believe our Deep TMS platform has many advantages relative
to other TMS systems. Our H-Coil is a flexible device encased in a helmet that fits securely around the patient’s head. This, together
with the proprietary structure of our H-Coil, means that a much larger surface area of the head is in contact with the H-Coil than would
be in contact with a figure 8-style coil. Furthermore, if the patient moves his or her head, the helmet - and thus the H-Coil - moves
along with it, eliminating the need for features which prevent the patient from moving his or her head during therapy. In contrast, all
other currently available TMS products, which we refer to as Traditional TMS, generally utilize a variation of a figure 8 coil that is
placed adjacent to the scalp of the patient and needs to be specifically positioned and attached to the head in order to deliver focal
stimulation of the desired area of the brain. Whereas some figure 8 coils are handheld by the operator, others are attached to an apparatus
designed to minimize the ability of the patient to move the head away from the relevant portion of the coil during therapy, which would
prevent the patient from achieving the required stimulation. These features either alert the operator in the event of a shift of the patient’s
head away from the coil, or actually fasten the coil next to the patient’s head. In either case, only a small surface area on the
patient’s head is likely to come into contact with the figure 8 coil. Traditional TMS is limited to stimulating relatively narrower
and shallower areas of the brain, and the manual positioning of the figure 8 coil in Traditional TMS may cause inaccuracies in the region
treated. Studies suggest that the figure 8 coil misses the target in a substantial number of patients.
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A course of treatment for MDD (under the standard-of-care
protocol) typically requires 20 treatment sessions five times a week over a period of four weeks, and thereafter up to 24 additional maintenance-
continuation sessions twice weekly over a period of up to 12 weeks. The standard Deep TMS treatment protocol for OCD requires 29 treatment
sessions over six weeks. The clearance for this indication is categorized as an adjunct therapy, which means that it should be administered
in conjunction with other first-line therapies and/or medications, as determined in the independent medical judgment of the treating healthcare
professional on a case-by-case basis. A course of treatment for smoking addiction typically requires 18 treatment sessions, comprised
of treatment five times a week over a period of three weeks, followed by treatment once per week for an additional three weeks. A standard
MDD, OCD or smoking addiction session lasts 20, 19 and 18 minutes, respectively. For Deep TMS for MDD, the FDA has also cleared a 3 minute
“Theta Burst” treatment protocol and, as noted above, also cleared our SWIFT accelerated protocol for the treatment of patients
with MDD, including those with comorbid anxiety symptoms. The accelerated protocol is comprised of an acute phase of 5 sessions per day
for 6 days (over a 14-day period), followed by 2 sessions per day once a week for 4 weeks, with each session lasting less than 10 minutes,
for a total of 38 sessions. The protocols for OCD and smoking addiction also require a short provocation procedure (i.e., triggering of
OCD or smoking symptoms, as relevant), to ensure that Deep TMS is calibrated to treat the particular needs of the patient, which is then
followed by a Deep TMS session. The treatments are typically office-based procedures performed in private clinics, hospitals, universities,
and other medical centers. As with Traditional TMS, Deep TMS is contraindicated for patients with metallic objects or implanted stimulator
devices in or near the head, including cochlear implants, deep brain stimulators, other implanted electrodes or stimulators, aneurysm
clips or coils, stents, bullet fragments, jewelry, and hair barrettes. During treatment, the patient must use earplugs to reduce exposure
to the loud sounds produced by the device.
We believe that Deep TMS has additional advantages over
Traditional TMS because it is capable of stimulating deeper and broader areas of the brain. Studies have shown that while
Traditional TMS devices create an electromagnetic field estimated to penetrate the cortical surface of the brain up to depths in the
range of 0.7 centimeters to 1.0 centimeters, Deep TMS creates a magnetic field with a slower and more gradual deterioration that
reaches depths of approximately 1.5 to 2 centimeters for BrainsWay’s H-Coils. Studies have also shown that BrainsWay’s
H1 Coil has the capacity for total stimulated brain volume of 17 cm3 compared to 3 cm3 for the figure 8 coil used in Traditional
TMS. We believe this deeper and broader penetration and the significantly increased brain volume stimulation of Deep TMS provides an
advantage over Traditional TMS because of its potential to address a wider variety of brain disorders, and for a given disorder, to
stimulate more relevant brain structures.
The training for operation of a Deep TMS system is relatively
simple and generally requires a day of training which includes classroom lectures as well as a number of hours of practice providing treatment.
The OCD and smoking training protocols also include tailored provocation procedures tailored to provoke the specific obsessions, compulsions,
or addictions, as relevant, of the subject.
Competitive Strengths
● Deep TMS technology has advantages over Traditional TMS
We believe that Deep TMS, with our proprietary H-Coil design,
allows for deeper and broader penetration of regions of the brain compared to Traditional TMS, permitting Deep TMS to address a wider
variety of psychiatric, neurological, and addiction disorders. We believe that this deeper and broader penetration provides us with the
opportunity to address more indications with potentially greater clinical efficiency because Deep TMS stimulates a larger portion of
the brain and is less sensitive to coil orientation and position during treatment. In addition, Deep TMS is administered at stimulation
levels that we believe are as safe and tolerable as Traditional TMS.
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● We have obtained FDA marketing authorizations of Deep TMS for MDD (including anxious depression), OCD, and smoking addiction.
We are the only manufacturer of a TMS device to have been
cleared by the FDA for three separate mental health disorder indications based on clinically proven efficacy which was demonstrated in
pivotal randomized placebo-controlled studies conducted on the device: MDD, for which our H1 Coil device was cleared by the FDA in 2013,
(and which clearance was expanded in August 2021 to include reduction of comorbid anxiety symptoms, or anxious depression, and then again
in May 2024 allowing for treatment of MDD patients ages 69-86, and then again in November 2025 allowing for treatment of MDD patients
ages 15-21 as an adjunct therapy) and for which our H7 Coil received 510(k) clearance from the FDA in August 2022; OCD, for which our
device was classified by FDA as a Class II device in a de novo classification in August 2018; and smoking addiction, for which
our device was cleared for short term treatment in August 2020. For MDD, we are one of only two TMS companies that have performed prospective,
randomized, placebo-controlled clinical studies supporting an FDA clearance. For OCD, we are the only company to have received such clearance
based on clinical data from a pivotal study on the device. We remain the only company to have proven clinical efficacy for OCD based on
a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial, while other competitors that have since obtained FDA clearance for
this indication, have done so in part relying on our clinical data. For smoking addiction, and indeed addictions generally, we are the
first and only TMS company to have received FDA clearance.
● Our clinical data supports the efficacy and safety of Deep TMS
We believe that our clinical data supports
the efficacy and safety of Deep TMS, which could accelerate its market acceptance by clinicians. Our pivotal trial for MDD demonstrated
statistically significant response and remission rates of 38.4% and 32.6%, respectively, in week five of Deep TMS treatment of 20 minutes
per session, compared to 21.4% and 14.6%, respectively, after sham treatment. Our pivotal trial for OCD demonstrated statistically significant
response and partial response rates of 38.1% and 54.8%, respectively, after six weeks of daily active Deep TMS treatment of 19 minutes
per session, compared to 11.1% and 26.7%, respectively, after sham treatment. Post-marketing data on Deep TMS for OCD published in 2021
found that 58.4% of those who completed 29 sessions achieved response, and 73% of patients, including those who did and did not complete
the full course of therapy, demonstrated response at least once prior to the conclusion of treatment. Our pivotal trial for smoking addiction
demonstrated a statistically significant difference in reaching the Continuous Quit Rate (CQR), defined as 4 weeks of continuous abstinence
from smoking at any point during the study. Among the 168 participants in the study who completed three weeks of Deep TMS or sham treatment,
plus the mandatory additional three weeks of follow-up (reaching the six-week endpoint), the CQR was 28.4% in the treatment group, compared
to 11.7% in the sham group (p=0.007). Overall, Deep TMS treatment was safe and well-tolerated by patients in these trials.
With respect to our MDD labeling
expansion which now includes anxious depression, data from 573 patients who had undergone Deep TMS treatment in 11 studies, including
both randomized controlled trials (RCT) and open-label studies, which was submitted by us in support of our application to the FDA, demonstrated
a treatment effect that was consistent, robust, and clinically meaningful for decreasing anxiety symptoms in adult patients suffering
from major depressive disorder. An analysis of our data found favorable outcomes with Deep TMS when compared to sham or medication as
standard of care. For example, using the Cohen’s d statistical method, data from the 3 randomized studies of Deep TMS demonstrated
effect sizes ranging from 0.34 (when compared to sham) to 0.90 (when compared to medication). As a reference, published articles from
approximately 16,000 subjects in over 70 studies of drug-based anxiety treatments – including studies of standard-of-care medications
frequently prescribed for patients suffering from anxious depression and general anxiety disorder – report effect sizes ranging
from 0.2 – 0.37.
● We have a commercial track record for MDD and OCD
We have an established commercial footprint
in the United States for Deep TMS for MDD, including our own sales, marketing, and support employees. We estimate that over 90% of total
private insurer covered lives in the United States have coverage for reimbursement of MDD treatment with Deep TMS. In addition, our MDD
treatment with Deep TMS is eligible for reimbursement from all Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs), and our OCD treatment is currently
covered by one of the seven MACs. We are also currently selling Deep TMS for MDD in Canada, Europe, Asia, India, Israel, and certain other
countries. We received reimbursement coverage applicable to Deep TMS in Australia in November 2021 and in Israel in June 2022. We are
also increasing our commercialization efforts for Deep TMS for OCD. Our installed base of Deep TMS systems for MDD facilitates faster
expansion into OCD because clinicians who already have a Deep TMS system only need to lease or purchase an add-on arm and helmet to the
existing system. In 2021, for the first time, several payors issued policies and coverage determinations allowing for reimbursement coverage
applicable to Deep TMS for OCD, with over 86 million covered lives in the U.S. eligible for coverage as of March 2024. Positive coverage
decisions for Deep TMS for OCD have been issued by Centene Corporation (with 26 million covered lives), Cigna Corporation (with 19.8 million
covered lives), Highmark (with 7.1 million covered lives), Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan (5.1 million covered lives), Premera (with
2.8 million covered lives) and LifeWise (with 1.5 million covered lives). Additionally, one of the seven Medicare Administrative Contractors
(MACs) in the US, Palmetto GBA, published a final Local Coverage Determination (LCD) in 2022 extending coverage applicable to Deep TMS
for OCD. While the criteria for this emerging Deep TMS for OCD coverage varies with each payor, generally, coverage requires the failure
of between two and four medication trials before qualifying for reimbursement. Our strategy is to look for ways to facilitate increased
coverage for OCD treatment by more payors, including both commercial and governmental. After the receipt of FDA clearance for our Deep
TMS product for smoking addiction, we initiated a clinical data collection effort to facilitate a long-term commercial plan for this product.
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● Our flexible pricing models are designed to achieve market penetration
We market our products utilizing two basic pricing models:
(i) a fixed-fee lease model enabling unlimited use; and (ii) a sales or purchase model. We also offer and/or are considering offering
a pay per use model to certain customers in certain territories. Warranty and support are either included (in varying degrees and for
varying periods) or may be purchased as part of all pricing models. Additional potential revenues may be derived from extended warranty
fees paid for the system for service coverage beyond the standard included warranty period, and from variable or usage fees in certain
territories and pricing models based on the number of treatments performed with the system. We are also able to leverage our platform
technology, which includes the ability to treat multiple indications using different H-coil helmets, to facilitate transactions utilizing
combined pricing models often involving a single system with one or more add-on helmets. We believe that our different pricing models
offer flexibility and allow for increased market acceptance among clinics and psychiatric professionals. Based on our commercial data,
and depending on insurer reimbursement rates, we believe our psychiatrist customers for MDD systems can generate up to approximately $10,000
of gross revenues per patient, and in some cases more, for a course of treatment using our system. While OCD coverage is still emerging,
we believe that our customers can generate up to approximately $8,800 of gross revenues per OCD patient.
● Deep TMS has potential application to a range of psychiatric, neurological, and addiction disorders
Our clinical studies, including various feasibility studies,
suggest that our Deep TMS system has the potential to serve as a platform technology that can address a potentially wide variety of other
psychiatric, neurological, and addiction disorders by using the appropriate H-Coil structure for different targeted brain regions. We
are the first and only TMS company to be cleared by the FDA for three separate mental health disorder indications based on clinically
proven efficacy as demonstrated in pivotal randomized placebo-controlled studies. Current indications include MDD, OCD, and smoking addiction.
Moreover, in August 2021, we received 510(k) clearance from the FDA expanding our MDD indication to also include treatment of depressed
patients for the reduction of comorbid anxiety symptoms (commonly referred to as anxious depression). In 2021 we also received a clearance
for a shortened three-minute depression protocol and a labeling expansion for anxious depression through subsequent 510(k) clearances.
In 2022, the FDA extended the clearance of our H7 Coil to include the treatment of MDD (including anxious depression). Our shortened three-minute
depression protocol, however, continues only to apply for our H1 Coil. In 2024, we received FDA clearance for an expansion of our existing
MDD clearance allowing for the treatment of patients within the 69-86 age range suffering from late life depression. In November 2025,
we received FDA clearance for an expansion of our existing MDD clearance allowing for the treatment of adolescent patients (ages 15-21)
suffering from depression as an adjunct therapy.
Beyond our existing indications, we are also considering further
clinical trials in other neurological and/or addiction areas.
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Our Strategy
We are currently focused on expanding the commercialization
of Deep TMS with respect to MDD, OCD and smoking addiction. In September 2021, we received a 510(k) clearance from the FDA for expansion
of our Deep TMS MDD treatment also to include treatment for reduction of anxiety symptoms, commonly referred to as anxious depression.
In August 2022, we received FDA clearance for treating anxious depression with our H7 Coil, which had been previously cleared for treating
OCD. In May 2024, we received FDA clearance for an expansion of our existing MDD clearance allowing for the treatment of patients within
the 69-86 age range suffering from late life depression. In September 2025, we received FDA clearance for an expansion of our existing
MDD clearance allowing for an “accelerated” treatment protocol for patients with MDD, including those with comorbid anxiety
symptoms. In addition, we are actively engaged in research for other potential applications for Deep TMS for patients suffering from neurological
conditions and addictions. For each potential indication, we assess and evaluate our technology’s efficacy, safety, patent status,
market potential, and development and regulatory pathways. Our systematic approach to evaluating and developing applications for Deep
TMS allows us to continually build upon our clinical pipeline, and advance those applications with the greatest clinical effect and revenue
potential. We also plan to advance other technological innovations in the neuromodulation space for the improvement of our products. For
example, we are currently developing and testing in clinical trials our next generation multichannel device, which includes our patented
“rotational field” TMS or “Deep TMS 360°™” technology, allowing for simultaneous modulation of different
areas of the brain and stimulation of neurons in various orientations to cover a greater number of neurons.
Specific elements of our strategy include the following:
● Increase the full-scale commercialization of Deep TMS for MDD, OCD and smoking addiction
We are continuing to scale up our commercialization of
Deep TMS for MDD as we seek to further penetrate the MDD market, including based on the FDA-cleared treatment to anxious depression (received
in September 2021) and the H7 Coil cleared by the FDA in August 2022 for such treatment. We continue to focus our principal commercial
activity on the U.S. market in light of the market size and wide range of insurance coverage. In addition, we continue our full-scale
commercialization of Deep TMS for OCD, which is the first noninvasive medical device FDA-authorized for the treatment of OCD, with reimbursement
coverage for this indication obtained since 2021 from payors covering over 90 million covered lives in the United States. After the receipt
of FDA clearance for our products for smoking addiction, we initiated a clinical data collection effort to facilitate and support the
long-term viability of the commercial plan for this product.
● Pursue additional indications and technological innovations for Deep TMS
We are considering expanding the application of Deep
TMS to other areas including neurological and/or addiction disorders. We intend to progress these plans ourselves and through our relationships
with third-party researchers and clinical institutions in conducting clinical trials for additional psychiatric, neurological, and addiction
disorders. With this approach, we address psychiatric, neurological, and addiction disorders that we believe present some of the most
promising market opportunities for Deep TMS.
● Expand reimbursement coverage for Deep TMS for OCD, smoking addiction and other approved indications in the future
A key prerequisite to the successful market acceptance of
Deep TMS is securing sufficient insurance/third-party payor coverage. The scope and level of coverage are also key factors in our ability
to penetrate the market and to expand further use of our Deep TMS system by healthcare providers and facilities for the benefit of the
larger patient population. Our MDD treatment with Deep TMS is widely eligible for reimbursement, including from Medicare, subject to the
satisfaction of certain clinical criteria. We aim to achieve similar levels of reimbursement for Deep TMS for OCD. We also aim to secure
coverage in various jurisdictions outside of the United States. For example in 2021, 2022, and 2024, favorable coverage decisions applicable
to TMS were issued in Australia and Israel, respectively. Although there is not currently any reimbursement for smoking addiction, in
October 2023 the Clinical TMS Society, an influential peer group, published the first coverage recommendations for smoking. We believe
that our ability to secure coverage from payors will be a key factor in the long-term success of this indication.
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● Develop innovative enhancements and features for our Deep TMS systems
We continue to develop innovative enhancements and features
for our Deep TMS systems to expand the applicability of Deep TMS to additional indications and improve the capabilities of the systems
for approved indications. For example, we are currently developing a future next generation version of the Deep TMS system, which includes
our patented “rotational field” TMS or “Deep TMS 360°™” technology, allowing for simultaneous modulation
of different areas of the brain and stimulation of neurons in various orientations to cover a greater number of neurons. Our novel rotational
field technology involves the operation of two orthogonal coils to induce a rotating field in the brain, allowing for stimulation of neurons
in various orientations. We have begun testing the clinical efficacy of this next generation technology in a randomized, placebo-controlled
study of patients suffering from Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD), as well as in 2 new feasibility studies – one for post-stroke rehabilitation,
and the other for OCD using an accelerated protocol. We further believe these enhancements hold the potential to make Deep TMS even more
attractive for clinicians, researchers, and patients, and may serve to better position its use in neurology.
● Increase our international commercial footprint
We are working to expand our existing commercial footprint
in Europe, Asia, Latin America, Australia, and the broader Middle East, and to pursue commercialization in additional markets. We currently
have distribution and agent agreements in various territories, including, notably, Canada, Germany, Singapore, Belgium, France, Italy,
Spain, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Greece, and India. In Israel, we directly distribute to our customers.
We obtained regulatory approval with the Pharmaceuticals
and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) in Japan, which is a precondition to receiving reimbursement coverage under the Japanese National Health
Insurance Plan. After working extensively with our Japanese distributor with the relevant bodies in Japan, in 2024 we succeeded in updating
the guidelines issued by the Japanese Society of Psychology and Neurology to include coverage for Deep TMS. Commercial sales of our systems
thus commenced in 2024, and our Japanese distributor has initiated a Post Marketing Study (PMS) in Japan to assess the efficacy and safety
of our treatment on the local population, which is a required commercialization criteria for this territory.
● Strategic Collaboration via Synergistic Transactions
We have already completed several and continue to explore
additional strategic transactions designed to expand access to care with companies that provide services and/or technologies that are
or have the potential to be synergistic with Deep TMS. This includes our strategic minority investments in 2025 and 2026 with several
Management Services Organizations (MSOs) which provide support to clinics delivering patient care to patients suffering from mental health
conditions via non-interventional therapies, as well as our August 2025 multi-phased investment and potential acquisition agreement with
Neurolief, the developer of a wearable neuromodulation device that can be used to treat treatment resistant depression patients at home.
We believe these investments represent sound deployments
of our capital resources in growth-oriented targets, with the potential to accelerate patient access to therapy as well as increase our
total addressable market.
Deep TMS for MDD
Disease Overview
MDD is a common and debilitating mental disorder
characterized by physiological symptoms, such as sleep disturbance and changes in appetite, emotional symptoms, such as sadness,
despair, emptiness, self-hate and critique, and cognitive symptoms, such as difficulty concentrating, memory dysfunction, suicidal
thinking, and faulty judgment of reality. MDD is expressed differently, and in different intensities, among patients, and
significantly impacts the functioning in all aspects of life. Patients are often not diagnosed due to low levels of awareness of the
disease and its symptoms by the patient and the family doctor involved, or due to prejudice related to psychotherapy. In order to be
diagnosed with MDD, a patient must display symptoms that are present most of the day, nearly every day, for at least two weeks. A
diagnosis of MDD is established by clinical interview, and an assessment of whether a patient reports a collection of the relevant
symptoms.
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MDD is a recurrent disease and follows a fluctuating course
over an individual’s lifetime, with periods of remission and relapse. If an initial episode of MDD is resolved, the return of depressive
symptoms during the first nine months thereafter is referred to as a relapse of the illness and is generally considered to be part of
the same depressive episode. When depressive symptoms return more than twelve months after the initial episode of MDD is resolved, it
is considered to be a recurrence of the illness and is deemed a new and distinct episode. A response to treatment is commonly measured
as a clinically significant decrease in symptoms on a standardized rating scale from baseline scores. When a patient shows no or nearly
no symptoms, the patient is referred to as being in remission. Experiencing one episode of MDD places an individual at an estimated 50%
risk of experiencing an additional episode of MDD. Approximately 80% of those individuals who have experienced two episodes of MDD will
experience an additional episode.
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In people with MDD, the complex system of neuronal communication
does not function properly. One of the most important discoveries in neuroscience has been the recognition that improper regulation of
one or more of the three major neurotransmitters, serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine, plays a key role in a patient’s depression.
This understanding has guided psychiatric drug development and the treatment of depression for more than three decades by placing a major
focus on targeting chemically-based mechanisms. The relatively recent introduction of TMS as a targeted, circuit-based treatment option
has reintroduced the importance of electrical mechanisms in restoring proper function to neuronal pathways to treat depression.
Market Information
According to the WHO, an estimated 280 million people
worldwide including 21.0 million individuals in the United States develop a major depressive episode within a given year. We estimate
that there are 69 million depression patients in India, 71 million in China, 37 million in Europe, and 6 million in Japan. MDD is one
of the most prevalent mental illnesses across all demographics. According to the Clinical Psychology Review, MDD follows a chronic course
of repeated bouts of remission and recurrence in about 50% of people affected. The chronic nature of MDD makes it the leading cause of
years lost to disability in the world, and MDD patients are more likely to commit suicide. According to the American Journal of Psychiatry,
roughly 2% of MDD patients treated as outpatients, and 4% of those hospitalized because of their condition, commit suicide. In addition,
studies suggest that some patients exhibit a higher mortality rate even after controlling for suicide. Due to the prevalence and severity
of MDD, the treatment of the disorder is a pressing concern for mental health professionals. An estimated 5 million adolescents aged 15–21
in the United States experience major depression, representing a significant and growing public health challenge. For these young individuals,
depression can disrupt critical developmental milestones, affecting academic achievement, family relationships, social functioning and
emotional growth during formative years. Treatment options for MDD remain limited, particularly for adolescents who cannot tolerate or
do not respond to medication. Those who fail to achieve relief with first-generation treatments face prolonged suffering, higher healthcare
costs, and a higher risk of comorbid conditions, such as substance abuse and suicide. Together, these challenges highlight what has historically
been a critical gap in access to effective, well-tolerated treatment options for this vulnerable population.
We focus on the population segment for whom conventional treatment
(medicinal and/or psychotherapy) of MDD has not provided the required clinical response, as patients who are treatment-resistant are entitled
to reimbursement for Deep TMS treatment. It is customary to assess that approximately half of the sufferers from the illness do not respond
to the first medicinal treatment, and that one-third do not find conventional solutions to their suffering at all. In addition, even among
patients who receive medicinal treatment that is found effective, many suffer from severe side effects that cause them to abandon the
treatment and be left with their depressive condition. We aim to meet the enormous need of these groups of treatment-resistant patients
and provide effective, non-medicinal treatment which is not accompanied by the systemic side effects of the medication on the one hand
and the electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) treatments on the other hand (such as damage to memory).
Treatment Options for MDD
Treatment for patients diagnosed with MDD varies by disease
severity. For patients with mild to moderate depression, first line treatment is usually psychotherapy (the treatment of mental disorders
by psychological means), especially if the patient is able to identify particular stressors or sources of depressive symptoms. For some
of these patients, pharmacotherapy (anti-depressant medication) may be used to supplement psychotherapy. For patients with moderate depression,
pharmacotherapy with or without psychotherapy is the recommended initial treatment. TMS is a second line therapy for the treatment of
a patient who has failed to achieve satisfactory improvement from prior pharmacotherapy. For patients with severe depression and later
stage treatment, somatic treatments such as ECT may be an option.
The central group of anti-depressant medicines is the selective serotonin reuptake
inhibitors (SSRI) and selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake (SNR).
A significant systematic review of the existing
evidence linking serotonin levels to depression was published in Nature in July of 2022. The review concluded that
“[t]he main areas of serotonin research provide no consistent evidence of there being an association between serotonin and
depression, and no support for the hypothesis that depression is caused by lowered serotonin activity or concentrations.” The
review, however, did not refute the body of evidence showing that randomized clinical trials (RCTs) comparing SSRIs to placebo have
consistently demonstrated statistical significance in reducing depression. As such, there has not been an appreciable change in
prescribing patterns. Thus, SSRIs are effective for some patients in treating depression, but there is a gap in understanding as to
why.
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Positive data published in May 2023 in the Journal of Psychiatric
Research demonstrated compelling data with respect to the effectiveness of Deep TMS for MDD, showing a high response rate from patients
in an average period of 16 sessions or 21 days after beginning treatment with Deep TMS.
A publication in October 2023 in the Psychiatry Research
journal published new real-world post-marketing data demonstrating the efficacy of accelerated Deep TMS for the treatment of major depressive
disorder (MDD). The standard FDA-cleared Deep TMS protocol involves one treatment session per day, five days a week for 4 weeks, followed
by a maintenance period. However, there has been recent interest in “accelerated” dosing schedules which involve multiple
sessions each day to allow for quicker overall treatment time. Data collected using this approach to treat depression was compiled from
clinical sites and analyzed in this study. Key findings from this post-marketing study included data demonstrating efficacy of Deep TMS
administered over multiple sessions each day to allow for quicker overall treatment time for depression patients. Following publication
of these post-marketing results, in June 2024 we announced the launch of a prospective, randomized, controlled, multicenter clinical trial
evaluating an accelerated treatment protocol for our Deep TMS system to treat MDD. The clinical trial enrolled 104 adults patients with
MDD across eight sites, is the largest randomized, controlled, blinded, multicenter trial of an accelerated Deep TMS protocol. Patients
from the study were split into two groups – one receiving a novel accelerated treatment protocol featuring an acute phase over several
treatment days, and the other receiving the FDA-cleared standard-of-care protocol which entails an acute phase over several weeks. The
design of this non-inferiority trial, which was determined in discussion with the FDA, aimed to compare the outcomes achieved with the
accelerated Deep TMS protocol versus the current standard-of-care Deep TMS protocol. Patients in the accelerated group completed five
sessions per day over six treatment days, followed by a brief continuation phase of eight sessions over the subsequent four weeks. This
protocol was designed to significantly reduce treatment burden. The primary endpoint of the study was the change in depressive symptoms
as measured using the HDRS-21 scale, and secondary endpoints included response and remission rates. In June 2025 we announced that the
clinical data from this multicenter, randomized, blinded, controlled study titled, “Accelerated Deep TMS for Depression: Results
from a Multisite, Randomized Non-Inferiority Trial,” show that the accelerated Deep TMS protocol using iTBS to treat patients with
MDD resulted in outcomes that were comparable to the standard protocol - while requiring considerably fewer visits to the clinic. For
example, HDRS-21 depression scores, after statistical adjustment, were reduced by 19.02 and 19.79 points in the accelerated and standard
Deep TMS groups, respectively; and response and remission rates were 87.8% and 78.0%, respectively, for the accelerated group, compared
to response and remission rates of 87.5% and 87.5%, respectively, for the standard group. suggest that the accelerated Deep TMS protocol
using intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) to treat patients with MDD resulted in outcomes that are comparable to the standard
once-daily TMS protocol - while requiring considerably fewer visits to the clinic. Median time to remission was 21 days for the accelerated
group, versus 28 days for the standard group. Study data also demonstrated the overall safety of our accelerated protocol, with no severe
adverse events reported.
In September 2025, the FDA cleared an expansion of the
cleared treatment protocols for our Deep TMS systems to include an accelerated protocol for the treatment of patients with MDD, including
those with comorbid anxiety symptoms. The expanded clearance protocol was based on the results of the aforementioned study. The accelerated
protocol comprised of an acute phase of 5 sessions per day for 6 days (over a 14 day period), followed by 2 sessions per day once a week
for 4 weeks, with each session lasting less than 10 minutes. This was compared to a standard protocol comprised of an acute phase of 5
daily sessions over 4 weeks, followed by 2 daily sessions per week for 2 weeks, with each session lasting 20 minutes.
The limitations of anti-depressant medications in MDD treatment
were demonstrated in the STAR*D study, a large clinical trial funded by the NIMH that enrolled more than 4,000 adult MDD patients at 41
clinical sites to examine the outcomes to a sequenced series of anti-depressant medication attempts that mimicked best practices. In the
study, only 36.8% and 30.6% of patients achieved remission in their first and second medication attempts, respectively. In addition, 30-40%
of MDD patients did not experience a meaningful response to anti-depressant medication. An analysis conducted in 2020 which was based
on the STAR*D study further reinforced the limitations of anti-depressant medications in MDD treatment, finding that only 21% of patients
achieve remission with medication and that 58% achieved no meaningful benefit with a second step switch to a monoaminergic antidepressant.
This means that there is still a significant number of patients who could benefit from an alternative treatment such as Deep TMS.
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TMS has been used as an antidepressant therapy since 2008. Currently, TMS for MDD is generally recommended for treatment-resistant MDD patients. Until recently payors typically required that patients fail multiple antidepressant medications prior to receiving TMS; however, there has been a trend which continued in recent years to reduce the number of required failures to one or two medication failures before qualifying for TMS. Based on research showing that TMS is effective in treating depressive symptoms in patients earlier within the continuum of care, many payors have now reduced the number of prior failed medication trials needed to qualify for Deep TMS for MDD. Specifically, over 250 million covered lives in the U.S. with commercial coverage now qualify for Deep TMS for MDD after two to three failed medication trials, and approximately 68 million lives in the U.S. with Medicare reimbursement coverage qualify
after just one to two failed medication trials.
Drug side effects play a decisive role in treatment selection
and modification, as each class of drugs is associated with a host of side effects, some more severe or more common than others. For many
patients, the side effects associated with pharmacological treatments for depression are a primary reason underlying low compliance and,
subsequently, low efficacy of treatment. The most common side effects include gastrointestinal symptoms, sedation, insomnia, weight changes,
sexual dysfunction, nervousness, sleep disruption, nausea, headaches, and cardiovascular or neurological effects. Side effects may also
cause patients not to adhere to the treatment or to abandon it. On initiation of anti-depressant pharmacotherapy, close monitoring for
response to treatment and development of side effects is essential. In addition, correlation was discovered between consumption of SSRI
medications and actualization of suicidal thoughts in youth, and some SSRI group medicines require strict diets and medical supervision.
In August 2022, the FDA has approved AUVELITY (dextromethorphan HBr -bupropion HCl) extended-release tablets for the treatment of MDD
in adults. AUVELITY is the first and only oral N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist approved for the treatment of MDD. The
most common side effects of the recently approved NMDA treatment include dizziness, headache, diarrhea, somnolence, dry mouth, sexual
dysfunction, and hyperhidrosis.
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For TMS, however, no significant side effects have been observed, other than mild headaches for a short period of up to a few hours after the treatment, and rare instances of short seizures. The few side effects associated with TMS treatment is considered one of its main advantages. The most common side effect of Deep TMS treatment is short-lasting mild pain or discomfort around the site of coil application. This side effect usually only lasts during the first week of treatment. Other adverse reactions such as jaw and face pain, muscle pain, spasm or twitching, and neck pain were reported as mild or moderate and were also resolved shortly after treatment, as well as seizures in certain patients. The less severe side effects associated with Deep TMS make it an attractive option for patients.
Alternatives to pharmacological and TMS-based treatments
include ECT, vagal nerve stimulation (VNS), and deep brain stimulation (DBS). ECT, the main psychotherapy alternative to TMS, is a therapy
in which patients are administered brief electric currents through the brain. ECT is a noninvasive treatment carried out by a doctor under
full anesthesia and muscle relaxant medicines, and patients often undergo partial hospitalization with recovery time lasting from hours
to even days. While fewer treatment sessions are required (6-12 sessions) compared to TMS (20-30 sessions), each session lasts approximately
an hour compared to the Deep TMS sessions that are typically about 20 minutes each. While ECT has high proven efficacy (70-75%) for patients
with MDD, ECT’s potential for serious side effects, as well as negative stereotypes surrounding the treatment, often cause patients
to be reluctant to undergo ECT. In addition, ECT affects the entire brain, including parts which do not need treatment, and may cause
permanent cognitive damage, including memory loss. ECT may have significant and relatively severe side effects, the most common of which
are cognitive and memory loss, changes in blood pressure, muscle pains, nausea, changes in mood, headaches, and pain or discomfort. ECT
is currently approved for treatment-resistant depression, severe mania, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, aggression or agitation in patients
with dementia, and catatonia. It is provided usually in cases of severe MDD, where medicinal treatment is ineffective or impossible and
in instances where the depression constitutes a risk to the life of the patient.
VNS and DBS are invasive therapies that can have serious side
effects. Both involve implanted devices, which require surgery. In DBS, two electrodes are surgically implanted in the brain and a pulse
generator is implanted into the patient’s chest. The electrodes produce electrical impulses that can regulate the electrical activity
of the brain. In VNS, a pulse generator is implanted on the upper left side of the chest to stimulate the vagus nerve. VNS and DBS include
surgical related risks, such as infection or local damage to the recurrent laryngeal nerve, which may lead to permanent voice alteration.
Prescription Digital Therapeutics, or PDTs, are a new therapeutic
class of products designed to directly treat diseases with software. Certain PDTs are prescribed by healthcare providers after evaluation
by the FDA for safety and efficacy testing via randomized clinical trials. Digital therapeutic companies, such as Pear Therapeutics, Inc.,
offer and/or are exploring products across a variety of therapeutic areas including substance abuse, insomnia, and depression. These products
can also include cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) techniques designed to improve disease outcomes.
Deep TMS for MDD - Our Clinical Trials
Phase III Trial Measuring Efficacy and Safety of Deep TMS
We completed a Phase III trial at 20 different sites
in the United States, Canada, Israel, and Germany to test the efficacy and safety of using Deep TMS to treat MDD between 2009 and 2013.
The therapeutic effect was clinically meaningful in both patients who failed one to two medications and patients who failed three or more
medications, indicating that Deep TMS is effective in an even more treatment-resistant population.
Based on these results, we filed a 510(k) application
to the FDA for Deep TMS using BrainsWay’s H1 Coil. In 2013, the FDA cleared Deep TMS for the treatment of MDD in adult patients
who have failed to achieve satisfactory improvement from previous anti-depressant medication treatment in the current episode.
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(a) Design
This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter
trial investigated the efficacy and safety of Deep TMS in 212 treatment-resistant adult MDD patients. Enrolled subjects were randomized
in a 1:1 ratio to undergo either monotherapy with active Deep TMS or with a sham. For active Deep TMS treatment, BrainsWay’s H-
Coils was used at 120% stimulation intensity and a frequency of 18 Hz.
The trial was designed with three phases. The first phase
was a wash-out phase in which patients slowly stopped any anti-depressants, mood stabilizers, or antipsychotics that they were previously
taking. This phase lasted one to two weeks. The second phase was a four-week acute treatment phase in which patients received daily treatment
with Deep TMS or a sham. The treatments were administered in a five-day sequence each week during the second phase. Measurements in respect
of this phase were taken in week five. The final phase was a 12-week maintenance-continuation phase in which patients received two treatments
per week of Deep TMS or a sham. Measurements in respect of the final phase were taken in week 16.
The primary efficacy endpoint was a change in the 21-question
Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) at week five (following the end of the acute treatment phase). The secondary efficacy endpoints
were response and remission rates at week five. Response was defined as a reduction of at least 50% from baseline HDRS score. Remission
was defined as a total HDRS score of less than 10. Tertiary efficacy endpoints included a change in HDRS score from baseline to week 16
and the response and remission rates at week 16. Safety was assessed at every treatment and additional safety evaluations included auditory
threshold tests and cognitive evaluations.
Inclusion and exclusion criteria required patients to meet the
following criteria:
● Antidepressant medication-free (following washout period)
● Failure to respond to one to four antidepressant trials or not tolerant of at least two antidepressant treatments in the current episode
● Diagnosed with MDD with a single or recurrent episode
● Duration of current episode must be at least one month but less than seven years
● Score of at least four on the Clinical Global Impression Severity of Illness (CGI-S)
● Score of at least 20 on the HDRS
● No current (or within past year) diagnosis of other Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) Axis I disorders (e.g., PTSD, OCD, other mood disorders, eating disorders, psychotic disorders, or dissociative disorders)
● No history or increased risk of seizures
During analysis, the study results were analyzed in two separate
groups: the intention-to-treat (ITT) and per-protocol (PP) analysis sets. The ITT group included all subjects who met the eligibility
criteria and received at least one Deep TMS treatment. Some of these patients, however, were not administered the treatment at the specified
stimulation intensity of 120%. The PP patients included all subjects from the ITT group who received the protocol-specified treatment
and stimulation intensity. Baseline demographic, clinical and safety assessments were performed on the ITT analysis set. Primary efficacy
analysis was performed only on the PP group.
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(b) Trial Results
The primary efficacy endpoint was a
change in the HDRS total score from baseline through week five. The change was measured as the slope of a graph of time point versus HDRS
score. The estimated slope for the Deep TMS treatment group was −6.39 while the estimated slope for the sham treatment group was
−3.28. The difference between groups was statistically significant (p = 0.008) for the PP group.
The secondary efficacy endpoints were response and remission
rates through week five. As shown in Figure 1, response rates were 38.4% at week five for the Deep TMS group and 21.4% at the same time
point for the sham group. Remission rates were 32.6% for the Deep TMS group and 14.6% for the sham group. The difference between groups
was statistically significant for both response and remission rates (p = 0.0138 and p = 0.0051, respectively).
The tertiary efficacy endpoints were changes in HDRS scores,
response, and remission rates at week 16 compared to baseline (see Figure 1 below). The difference in slope between Deep TMS and sham
groups was 2.47, which was statistically significant (p = 0.0259). Additionally, the response rates at week 16 were 44.3% for the Deep
TMS group and 25.6% for the sham group, which demonstrated a statistically significant difference between the groups (p = 0.0086). Remission
rates at week 16 were 31.8% for the Deep TMS group and 22.2% for the sham group, which was a nonsignificant difference between groups
(p = 0.1492).
Figure 1. Response and Remission Rates for Deep
TMS and Sham Groups at Week 5 and Week 16
Source: Levkovitz et al., 2015
For the group of patients who failed one to two medications, remission rates were 36.6% in the Deep TMS group and 16.7% in the sham group. This was a statistically significant difference (p = 0.032). For the group of patients who failed three or more medications, remission rates were 28.9% for the Deep TMS group and 12.2% for the sham group. This difference was just outside of significance (p = 0.057). The data suggest that Deep TMS treatment can achieve high rates of remission even in patients who have been more resistant to medications.
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Figure 2. HDRS Score Change (Slope) and Remission Rates for Deep TMS and Sham Groups in Subpopulations of Patients Who Failed 1 to 2 Medications versus Patients Who Failed 3+ Medications
Source: Levkovitz et al., 2015
(c) Safety Results
Overall, Deep TMS treatment was safe and well-tolerated by
patients. The most common reported side effects within the Deep TMS group are as follows: 26.7% of patients experienced headaches, 5.0%
experienced application site pain, and 3.0% experienced application site discomfort. The most common reported side effects within the
sham group are as follows: 18.9% of patients experienced headaches, 3.6% experienced insomnia, and 2.7% of patients experienced back pain.
One subject experienced a seizure, following excessive consumption of alcohol on the night before treatment that was not reported to the
treating physician or operator at the time of treatment. This was considered device-related, albeit with the caveat that withdrawal from
alcohol may have led to a reduction of seizure threshold and consequently to this seizure during Deep TMS.
Longer-Term Remission and Response
As demonstrated by our pivotal multicenter study for MDD (as
described above), and in another third-party study (Harel et al. (2014)), MDD patients who achieved remission or response after an acute
course of Deep TMS treatment of 20 sessions over four weeks were able to sustain the therapeutic effect by continuing to undergo Deep
TMS treatment beyond the treatment course. Additionally, our trial and the Harel study showed that among MDD patients who did not achieve
a response after an acute course of Deep TMS treatment, the longer such patients continued to undergo Deep TMS therapy, the more likely
they were to achieve remission or response. This result was also demonstrated in another study examining the results of our multicenter
trial (Yip et al. (2017)), which found that 72.7% of the patients who did not achieve response after an acute course of treatment achieved
a response within the next 12 weeks (which involved twice weekly Deep TMS treatment), of which 60.6% achieved response within the first
four weeks. These studies suggest that Deep TMS may continue to be effective beyond the standard acute treatment course, potentially broadening
its clinical applicability.
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Real world data further demonstrates the benefits of Deep TMS for MDD: In a peer-reviewed post-marketing study published in Psychiatry Research in 2023, we demonstrated that patients who had received 30 or more Deep TMS treatments achieved an 82% response rate and a 65% remission rate. In the study, BrainsWay collected an aggregate data set from 1,753 patients across 21 clinics, of which 1,351 patients met the inclusion criteria for the analysis. All patients were treated with our H1 Coil utilizing either a standard protocol (typically 18Hz, 20-minutes long) or a shorter intermittent theta burst (iTBS) protocol. Outcomes were measured with clinician-based scales (HDRS-21) and/or patient self-administered questionnaires designed specifically for depression (PHQ-9, BDI-II). This analysis also showed that the average patient achieved sustained response at 16 sessions, or 21 days after beginning treatment. The results found similar efficacy rates among
patients undergoing the standard protocol and those who had been administered an iTBS protocol. Data from questionnaires which are not specific to depression, and thus less relevant for assessing depression changes, were intentionally excluded.
Use of H7 Coil for treatment of MDD
Our randomized, double-blind, controlled multicenter,
non-inferiority study of our H1 and H7 Coils trial, which included 144 subjects, found overall efficacy rates for the H7 Coil which were
comparable to those achieved with our H1 Coil. Based on this trial, our MDD clearance, which had previously applied to our H1 Coil, was
extended by the FDA to also apply to our H7 Coil, which until this clearance was used only for treatment of OCD.
Furthermore, following receipt of this clearance, a publication
of the study in The Journal of Clinical Investigation (JCI) Insight included a retrospective analysis of the study results which
identify preliminary predictors that could help optimize treatment based on individual patients’ attributes. This analysis examined
clinician rating scales and EEG data revealing intriguing differences between the patient treatment of the two coils. Categorizing patients
according to “clusters” of clinical depressive and anxiety baseline symptoms derived from a subset of the Hamilton Depression
Rating Scale (HDRS-21) resulted in two subject groups: One with higher severity of the cluster, which on average responded better to the
H1 Coil, and another with lower severity of the cluster, which on average responded better to the H7 Coil. This analysis also showed that
brain activity measured during the first treatment session correlated with the clinical outcomes ultimately achieved after the full course
of treatment. This finding suggests that specific brain patterns observed in an individual’s response to either coil during the
early stages of treatment might be predictive of the longer-term outcome of treatment with that coil.
Accelerated Deep TMS for Depression
(a) Trial Design
This study was a prospective, 6-week, blinded, randomized,
controlled, multicenter trial in which the accelerated iTBS (ACC-iTBS) Deep TMS stimulation protocol was compared to the Standard of Care
- High Frequency (SOC-HF) Deep TMS stimulation protocol. The study was reviewed and approved by an external Institutional Review Board
(Sterling) and was registered on clinicaltrials.gov (NCT06357832). The study was conducted in the United States (7 sites) and India (1
site), with active enrollment and treatment from May 2024 through February 2025. The trial was executed through an external clinical research
organization and sponsored by us. The ACC-iTBS protocol was delivered at 110% of rMT and consisted of 3 pulse bursts at 50 Hz, 5 Hz bursts
frequency, 2s on and 8s off (1,800 pulses per session as in the FDA-cleared SAINT protocol; 9 min 42 sec). The treatment consisted of
5 treatment sessions of Deep TMS a day for 6 days (within a 14-day period) with a minimum 50-minute intersession interval (Acute Phase),
followed by 2 treatment sessions per day, 1 day per week for an additional 4 weeks (Continuation Phase).
The SOC-HF protocol was delivered per the FDA-cleared
standard-of-care: 120% of rMT delivered at 18 Hz, 2s pulse train, 20s inter-train interval, 55 trains, for a total of 1,980 pulses per
session for 20 minutes. The treatment consisted of 1 treatment session per day, 5 sessions/week for 4 weeks (Acute Phase), followed by
2 treatment sessions per week for an additional 2 weeks (Continuation).
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(b) Trial Results
The primary efficacy endpoint of the study was the change
from baseline to week 6 in the HDRS-21 scores. In both groups, HDRS-21 scores significantly decreased from baseline to week 6. The difference
between the groups in the HDRS change from baseline to week 6 was 0.76 points and was not significant (p=0.7783). The upper limit of the
one-sided 97.5% CI was 2.73 (cf. inferiority margin delta = 3.0), confirming that the ACC-iTBS protocol is non-inferior to the standard
of care. High remission and response rates were found in both groups after 6 weeks (78-88%), with no significant differences between the
groups. When assessed over a weekly basis, the remission rates in the HDRS and MADRS were comparable. Significant decreases from baseline
and high remission/response rates were also found with CGI-S and HARS in both groups with no significant differences. Sub-group analysis
of the effect of the number of antidepressant medications in the current episode (1-2 vs. ≥3) was performed. HDRS-21 scores improved
significantly on all sub-groups with no significant dependence on the number of medications (p=0.2883).
(c) Safety Results
No serious adverse events were reported by any of the
subjects in either treatment group during this study. Reported adverse events were commonly seen with TMS. Headaches occurred in 21 (41.18%)
subjects in the ACC-iTBS group and 8 (15.09%) subjects in the SOC-HF group (χ² = 6.89, p = .009). None of the headaches reported
were classified as severe. Application site discomfort occurred in 1 (1.96%) subject in the ACC-iTBS group and in 1 (1.89%) subject in
the SOC-HF group. Application site pain occurred in 4 (7.84%) subjects in the ACC-iTBS group and in no subjects in the SOC-HF group. None
of the incidents were reported as severe. No migraines were reported in the ACC-iTBS group and 2 (3.77%) subjects reported migraines in
the SOC-HF group with one of the migraines being classified as severe. Anxiety was reported in 3 (5.88%) subjects in the ACC-iTBS and
insomnia was reported in 2 (3.92%) of the subjects in the ACC-iTBS group. None of these were classified as severe. Only one patient (in
the ACC-iTBS group) withdrew consent due to an adverse event (jaw pain).
Longer-Term Remission and Response
A follow-up study assessed the durability of the clinical
effect in both groups during 12 months. The study is expected to conclude on March 2026.
Deep TMS for OCD
Disease Overview
OCD is a common, chronic, and long-lasting disorder in which
a person has uncontrollable, reoccurring thoughts (obsessions) and behaviors (compulsions) that he or she feels the urge to repeat over
and over in a manner that can interfere with all aspects of life, such as work, school, and personal relationships.
Individuals with OCD exhibit obsessions, compulsions, or both.
Obsessions are reoccurring ideas, thoughts, or impulses that cause anxiety that individuals experience excessively and without cause.
Compulsions are defined as repetitive behaviors or thoughts that are performed on a strict schedule and appear to have a purpose to the
patient exhibiting the behavior or thought. Even if an individual is aware that the thoughts are inappropriate or irrelevant, he or she
still might not be able to suppress the thought or the corresponding action. Obsessions tend to be related to contamination, cleanliness,
or orderliness, and so compulsions frequently involve cleaning, washing, counting, arranging things in a particular way, or repeatedly
checking on things. These symptoms can interfere with all aspects of life, such as work, school, and personal relationships. While a wide
spectrum of individuals may exhibit OCD-like symptoms, in order to be diagnosed with OCD, he or she must exhibit symptoms that cause severe
distress or disrupt a person’s functioning for more than one hour per day.
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OCD can severely disrupt an individual’s daily functioning, and many individuals suffering from OCD have a lower quality of life and significantly more mental distress compared to unaffected individuals. A survey of OCD patients found that 73% of patients have weakened family relationships, 62% have weakened friendships, and 40% are chronically underemployed or unemployed. Patients with both OCD and MDD, a frequent combination of disorders, experience the most severely impacted quality- of-life. Additionally, individuals with OCD may feel embarrassment or shame regarding their obsessions and compulsions, contributing to the low treatment-seeking rate of approximately 36%.
Market Information
Despite variances in estimates of the incidence of the disorder, we believe that a majority of research
reports that 2% of the global population suffers from OCD sometime during their lifetime. According to the National Institute of Mental
Health, approximately 1.2% of the adult population in the United States suffers from OCD over their lifetime. Based on these data, we
estimate that approximately 3.24 million adults in the United States suffer from OCD annually, and approximately half (i.e., 1.62 million)
are treatment resistant. Of the total OCD population, 50.6% of cases are characterized as having severe impairment. Another 34.8% of adults
with OCD had moderate impairment, and 14.6% had mild impairment. The average age of onset is 19 years old.
There is a significant overlap of patients experiencing MDD
and those experiencing OCD. Researchers found that MDD was 10 times more prevalent in OCD patients compared to the general population.
Additionally, roughly 30% of OCD patients have concurrent OCD and MDD at the time of evaluation, and 60 to 80% of OCD patients experience
a depressive episode over the course of their lifetime. Frequently, depressive symptoms follow OCD, which suggests that the depressive
symptoms occur as a response to the distress caused by OCD.
Treatment Options for OCD
OCD is generally considered to be one of the most difficult
psychiatric diseases to treat. The wide variability in the expression of the disease and the frequent co- morbidity (simultaneous presence)
with MDD and other anxiety disorders has complicated the development of an effective, targeted treatment for OCD. The accepted treatment
for OCD is medicinal treatment, psychotherapy or a combination of both. However, up to 40% of patients do not respond to these treatments
sufficiently.
While 60-70% of patients respond or partially respond
to treatment with antidepressant medications such as SRIs or SSRIs, there is a high relapse rate of approximately 60% when medications
are stopped. The high relapse rate suggests that pharmacological treatments should be continued over an extended period of time in order
to have continued effect. In addition, when testing a new pharmacological treatment on a patient, it takes 10 to 12 weeks to determine
if the medication is bringing about clinically significant improvements in symptoms. Over half of patients experience a 25% to 35% decrease
in symptoms within 10 to 12 weeks, but symptoms rarely disappear entirely. In addition, 40-60% of OCD patients do not experience a meaningful
response to pharmacological treatment.
Deterrents to treatment include the often-severe side effects
of medications. Tricyclic antidepressant medication, generally considered to be an effective first-line OCD treatment, is known for its
particularly strong side effect profile. The medication can cause heightened risk of seizures, weight gain, sleepiness, tremor, dry mouth,
nausea, constipation, visual changes, sweating, and sexual dysfunction. All other OCD medications may cause similar side effects, which
make it challenging for patients to retain a high quality of life while also working toward disease remission. Upon initiation of pharmacological
treatment for OCD, it is critical to closely monitor for development of any adverse effects.
Psychotherapy can be an effective treatment for adults and
children with OCD. The treatment may involve controlled exposure to the source of the obsession and practice of refraining from performance
of the compulsion. Research shows that certain types of psychotherapy, including cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and other related therapies
(e.g., habit reversal training) can be as effective as medication for many individuals. Research also shows that a type of CBT called
Exposure and Response Prevention (EX/RP) is effective in reducing compulsive behaviors in OCD, even in people who did not respond well
to antidepressant medication. For many patients EX/RP is the add-on treatment of choice when antidepressant medication does not effectively
treat OCD symptoms.
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Deep TMS presents a novel, FDA-authorized treatment for OCD. In August 2018, the FDA classified and provided marketing authorization for Deep TMS for OCD as an adjunct treatment (i.e., to be used in conjunction with first-line treatment, such as antidepressant medication or CBT) for adult patients suffering from OCD. Deep TMS has the unique ability to simultaneously influence a network of specific regions in the brain related to OCD. In addition, it offers a direct effect over deep regions in the brain associated with the disorder. The effects of the treatment begin within a relatively short time period and the duration of the entire treatment plan is shorter compared to a medicinal treatment. Deep TMS therapy for OCD has not demonstrated any systemic side effects, and we believe that Deep TMS presents an attractive alternative to existing treatment options for OCD because antidepressant medications, due to their side effects, often lead to cessation
of treatment by the patient and as a result, relapse of OCD symptoms.
Positive data published in February 2022 in the Journal of
Psychiatric Research demonstrated the relative cost-effectiveness of Deep TMS for refractory OCD patients when compared with other treatments
within the treatment continuum, which includes outpatient medication, CBT, as well as more intensive, facility-based approaches. The data
suggest that Deep TMS is a cost-effective alternative, and particularly indicate that it may serve as an incremental strategy to employ
when higher intensity strategies, such as facility-based approaches, are either unavailable, not financially feasible, or have extended
waits for admission.
Since 2021, several payors issued policies and coverage determinations
allowing for reimbursement coverage applicable to Deep TMS for OCD. While the criteria for this emerging Deep TMS coverage varies with
each payor, generally, coverage requires the failure of between two and four medication trials before qualifying for reimbursement.
The NIMH is supporting research into new treatment approaches
for people whose OCD does not respond well to the usual therapies. These new approaches include combination and add-on (augmentation)
treatments, as well as novel techniques such as deep brain stimulation (DBS).
Deep TMS for OCD - Our Clinical Trials
Phase III Trial Measuring Efficacy and Safety
We completed a Phase III trial at 11 sites in the United States,
Israel, and Canada to test the efficacy and safety of Deep TMS as a treatment for OCD, which was conducted from 2014 through 2017. In
this trial, Deep TMS met its safety and efficacy endpoints and based on these results, we filed a de novo application to the FDA
for the Deep TMS (using our H7 Coil) in this indication. In August 2018, the FDA classified and granted marketing authorization for Deep
TMS as an adjunct treatment for adult patients with OCD to be used together with other first-line therapies.
(a) Trial Design
This double blind, placebo-controlled trial tested the
efficacy and safety of Deep TMS in the treatment of 94 treatment-resistant OCD patients. Enrolled subjects were randomized to either treatment
with active Deep TMS or a sham. Deep TMS for OCD was used for all treatment sessions, each of which lasted 18.3 minutes. Our H7 Coil is
specifically used in OCD treatment because it targets the anterior cingulate cortex, a region believed to be affected by OCD.
The trial consisted of three phases. The first phase,
lasting one to two weeks, was the screening phase, during which antidepressant medications other than SSRIs were tapered down and washed
out (i.e., to make sure that patients take during the trial only medications that were approved by the protocol (such as SSRIs), and that
they remained stable on these medications). Following the screening phase, patients entered into a six-week treatment phase. During the
first five weeks of the treatment phase, patients received five consecutive sessions per week, followed by one week with four sessions
(29 total treatment sessions). The third phase was the follow-up, in which patients were assessed in week six after their final treatment.
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The primary endpoint measure was the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS), which is a score ranging from 0 to 40, with higher scores indicating greater severity of OCD symptoms. The secondary efficacy endpoint measures were response rate at weeks 6 and 10, partial response rate at weeks 6 and 10, and remission rates at week 6. Secondary safety endpoint measures included the number of adverse events, physical and cognitive evaluations, and vital signs.
Inclusion and exclusion criteria required patients to be diagnosed
with OCD, have a YBOCS score of greater than 20, and not be diagnosed with any severe personality disorders.
(b) Trial Results
After six weeks of treatment, the Deep TMS treatment
group had statistically significant improvement in YBOCS score compared to the sham treatment group. The adjusted mean YBOCS score decreased
by 6.04 points in the Deep TMS group and by 3.27 points in the sham control group. The difference between the slopes of 2.78 points across
six weeks between the treatment arms was statistically significant (p-value: 0.0127), and the effect size at week six assessment was 0.69.
As shown in Figure 3, 38.1% of the Deep TMS treatment group achieved a response compared to 11.1% of the sham treatment group. Furthermore,
54.8% of the Deep TMS treatment group achieved a partial response, compared to 26.7% of the sham treatment group. The differences between
groups were statistically significant for both response rate (p = 0.0033) and partial response rate (p = 0.0076).
Figure 3. Response and Partial Response Rates
for Deep TMS and Sham Treatment Groups
One month after the end of treatment (10 weeks after baseline),
patients retained clinical improvement of symptoms, and these measures (YBOCS change and response rate) were significantly better in the
Deep TMS group compared to the sham group (p=0.03 for YBOCS change and p=0.0057 for response rate).
Figure 4 highlights the continued decrease in unadjusted mean
YBOCS score from baseline over the ten-week period.
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Figure 4. Total YBOCS Score Change from Baseline over 10-Weeks for Deep TMS and Sham Treatment Groups
Real world data further demonstrates the benefits of Deep
TMS for OCD: In a post-marketing study, published as a peer-reviewed paper, the overall first and sustained response rates were 72.6%
and 52.4%, respectively. The response rate was 57.9% in patients who had YBOCS scores after the FDA-cleared protocol of 29 Deep TMS sessions.
First response was achieved in average after 18.5 sessions (SD = 9.4) or 31.6 days (SD = 25.2). Onset of sustained one-month response
was achieved in average after 20 sessions (SD = 9.8) or 32.1 days (SD = 20.5). Average YBOCS scores demonstrated continuous reduction
with increasing numbers of sessions. The results indicate that in real-world clinical practice, the majority of OCD patients benefitted
from our therapy, and the onset of improvement usually occurs within 20 sessions. Extending the treatment course beyond 29 sessions resulted
in continued reduction of OCD symptoms, raising the prospect of value for extended treatment protocols in non-responders.
A study published in November 2021 in the Brain Stimulation
journal demonstrates the durability of Deep TMS for OCD and the significant reduction in functional disability experienced by those who
have undergone our therapy for this disorder. To evaluate durability, clinical sites from our pivotal trial, as well as other clinical
sites contributing post-marketing data, conducted follow up assessments with patients that had met response criteria following treatment
with our H1 Coil. Durability was defined as the elapsed time from the end of the Deep TMS treatment course until there was a change in
ongoing treatment. Data revealed that of the 60 subjects evaluated from seven clinical sites, 52 demonstrated durability of one year or
more (86.7%), 26 of which showed two or more years of durability. The data also showed that patients exhibited a significant reduction
in disability, with self-reported unproductive days per week dropping from 5.5 days (±0.4) to 1.8 days (±0.4), and self-reported
lost days per week dropping from 1.9 (±0.6) to 0.3 days (±0.2).
Figure 5. OCD Durability and Reduction in
Unproductivity
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Deep TMS for Smoking Addiction
Disease Overview
Smoking is one of the leading causes of death in developed countries. The addiction to nicotine,
similar to the addiction to drugs and alcohol, activates the limbic system and causes uncontrollable desire to smoke. According to the
World Health Organization (WHO), 1.2 billion people globally use tobacco, primarily cigarette smoking (as of 2024). Globally, more than
8 million people die from smoking each year: 7 million from direct use and 1.6 million from second-hand smoke. Approximately 39.4 million
U.S. adults smoke combustible tobacco products, including 31.3 million who smoke cigarettes, and 480,000 die from smoking each year. Repeated
nicotine use leads to tobacco use disorder (TUD), characterized by craving and withdrawal, compulsive use despite negative consequences,
repeated relapses, and is associated with multiple health problems and failed attempts to cease. Smoking causes about 80-90% of all lung
cancer deaths.
Market Information
The global nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) market was estimated at $3.07 billion in 2025 and
is anticipated to grow to $4.72 billion by 2034 as a result of the increasing incidence of chronic, smoking-related diseases (https://www.fortunebusinessinsights.com/nicotine-replacement-therapy-nrt-market-103362).
Chantix (Varenicline), the leading smoking cessation pharmaceutical from Pfizer, had sales of $1.1 billion worldwide in 2019, $899 million
from the United States. Considering the U.S. market, there are 34 million cigarette smokers. Each year, 55% attempt to quit smoking (81%
of which are motivated to quit). Only 29% of adult smokers that attempt to quit report using medication (e.g. NRT, Varenicline, Buproprion),
and less than 10% of smokers quit within a given year with varied long-term success.
Treatment Options for Smoking Addiction
One of the most common smoking addiction
options is nicotine replacement therapy (NRT), which is the affixing of patches to the body or the chewing of gum which secrete decreasing
concentrations of nicotine in a manner which may assist physical withdrawal. However, this method does not treat the psychological-behavioral
component of the addiction, and therefore there is a high probability that the patient will return to smoking if nicotine patch treatment
is discontinued. A study found that 93% of over-the-counter NRT users relapse and return to smoking within six months.
First line treatment options include
antidepressants such as Zyban (bupropion) and Chantix (varenicline). Studies have found advantageous abstinence rates compared to placebo.
Yet, recent studies using objective measures found very low quit rates. A recent meta-analysis found that 20% of smokers treated with
medications remained abstinent for one year, compared to 12% with placebo. The medications may frequently be associated with undesirable
adverse events.
There are studies that indicate that combination of psychological
support with pharmacotherapy may increase the chances to quit smoking. Although there is not currently any reimbursement coverage for
TMS therapy as a treatment for smoking addiction, in October 2023, the Clinical TMS Society (CTMSS), an influential peer group, published
the first coverage recommendations for smoking addiction treatment using TMS. With this new coverage guidance for insurers, CTMSS now
recommends TMS coverage for individuals with a confirmed diagnosis of Tobacco Use Disorder (TUD) who failed two alternative treatment
methods, cannot tolerate drugs, or have other comorbid medical conditions (secondary to TUD) such as COPD, artery disease and lung cancer.
Deep TMS for Smoking Addiction – Our Clinical Trials
Deep TMS presents a novel, FDA-authorized treatment for
smoking addiction. In August 2020, the FDA classified and provided marketing authorization for the use of Deep TMS as an aid in short-term
smoking cessation in adults. Deep TMS has the unique ability to simultaneously influence a network of specific regions in the brain associated
with reward and craving. The effects of the treatment begin within a relatively short time period and the duration of the entire treatment
plan is shorter compared to a medicinal treatment. Deep TMS therapy for smoking cessation has not demonstrated any systemic side effects,
and we believe that Deep TMS presents an attractive alternative to existing treatment options for smoking cessation because antidepressant
medications, due to their side effects, often lead to cessation of treatment by the patient and as a result, relapse to smoking.
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We concluded with positive results a pivotal multicenter trial assessing the safety and efficacy of Deep TMS as an aid in smoking cessation in adults suffering from chronic smoking addiction.
The trial was a randomized, double-blind, multicenter
study designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Deep TMS treatment as an aid in reducing cigarette smoking in individuals suffering
from chronic smoking addiction. It was conducted at 14 sites, primarily in the U.S., and enrolled 262 eligible subjects randomized into
two groups: an active treatment group treated with our proprietary H4 Coil targeting addiction-related brain circuits, and a sham control
group. The primary endpoint of the study was a comparison between the two groups of the four-week continuous quit rate (CQR), representing
abstinence during a consecutive four-week period. Weekly abstinence was defined as a subject’s self-report (in a diary) of no smoking,
confirmed by urine tests indicating abstinence from smoking. The participants in the study were highly addicted to smoking, with a history
of smoking on average for over 26 years and multiple failed attempts to quit. All of the subjects in the study had at least one prior
unsuccessful attempt to quit smoking before being enrolled in the trial. Over 68% of the subjects had undertaken at least three prior
unsuccessful attempts, and over 25% had undertaken at least five prior unsuccessful attempts.
Participants received three weeks of daily Deep TMS (or sham)
treatment followed by one session per week for three more weeks (for a total of 18 treatments over six weeks). Assessment visits, including
questionnaires and the collection of urine samples, were performed weekly from week two until week six. In addition, subjects were asked
to keep a record of their smoking behavior on a diary card. Patients reporting abstinence at 6 weeks were invited for a long follow-up
(L-UP) visit at 4 months.
Of the 169 participants in the study who actually completed
three weeks of Deep TMS or sham treatment, plus the mandatory additional three weeks of follow-up (reaching the six-week endpoint), the
CQR was 28.0% in the treatment group compared to 11.7% in the sham group (p=0.007). The primary endpoint was defined based on the CQR
among those subjects who received at least one Deep TMS (or sham) treatment session and had at least one post-baseline assessment, even
if not completing the treatment period. Within this cohort (ITT-E, which consisted of 234 participants and included dropouts) the CQR
was 19.4% in the treatment group and 8.7% in the sham group (p= 0.0174).
The Overall 4-week continuous quit rate (CQR) is shown in the figure
below for the active Deep TMS and sham groups, within the ITT-E and completers (CO) cohorts.
Figure 6. Overall 4-week Continuous Quit Rates
for Deep TMS and Sham Treatment Groups
An important secondary endpoint was the reduction in the number
of cigarettes smoked. At baseline, the average number of cigarettes smoked per week was 123 for the active group and 139 for the sham
group. After 3 weeks of treatment, the average number of cigarettes smoked per week was reduced to 38 in the active group and 57 in the
sham group (p= 0.0018, active vs. sham). By the sixth week of the study, the average number of cigarettes smoked per week declined to
31 for the active group and 48 for the sham group (p=0.0125, active vs. sham).
The numbers of cigarettes per week, from baseline to the 6-week
time-point, are shown in the figure below for the two groups. As can be seen, the difference between the Deep TMS and sham group is significant
starting from week 2.
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Figure 7. Number of Cigarettes Smoked for Deep
TMS and Sham Treatment Groups
Customers
For the year ended December 31, 2025, a significant portion
of our revenues were derived from contracts with a single large enterprise account in the United States. Transactions with this customer
were made pursuant to specifically agreed-upon and negotiated contract terms, conditions, and pricing for each order of systems and/or
services.
Sales and Marketing
United States
The United States is our primary and most strategic market,
representing approximately 85%, 81% and 75% of our revenues for the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. We operate
in the United States through our wholly owned subsidiary, BrainsWay USA Inc., as a direct marketing and sales channel, engaging in the
marketing, sales, support, and logistics independently in the United States. As of December 31, 2025, we had 49 U.S. employees, including
46 sales, marketing and service/operations employees, 1 general and administrative employee, and 2 medical affairs employees.
In the United States, we sell or lease Deep TMS systems by
one of the following two methods: (i) a fixed-fee lease model in which the Deep TMS system is leased to a customer for a fixed annual
fee, generally with a term of between 48 to 60 months, for unlimited use; and (ii) a sales or purchase model in which the Deep TMS system
is sold to the customer for a fixed purchase price, sales or purchase model. We also utilize and/or are planning to utilize other commercial
models, including those based on a pay per use model, with certain customers in certain territories. Additional potential revenues may
be derived from extended warranty fees paid for the system for service coverage beyond the standard included warranty period, and from
variable or usage fees based on the number of treatments performed with the system. We are also able to leverage our platform technology,
which includes the ability to treat multiple indications using different H-Coil helmets, to facilitate transactions utilizing combined
pricing models often involving a single system with one or more add-on helmets. These flexible offerings are designed to facilitate market
penetration by addressing the differing clinical needs and risk tolerance among our customer base.
As of December 31, 2025, approximately 39% of our global Deep TMS systems installed base for MDD
utilized the fixed-fee lease model, and approximately 61% utilized the sales model. We generally commercialize Deep TMS for OCD utilizing
a leasing or purchase model, and often as part of a combined offering with our MDD system.
Following our receipt of FDA clearance for smoking addiction,
we completed controlled and limited market releases of our system for this indication, and are currently in the process of a clinical
data collection effort to facilitate a long term commercial plan for this product.
The training for operation of our Deep TMS system is
not complex and requires about a day of training which includes theoretical learning and a number of practical hours of practice of placing
the helmet on the head of the patient and providing treatment. Deep TMS for OCD requires additional training on triggering the patient’s
OCD symptoms prior to administration of the treatment. Similarly, Deep TMS for smoking addiction involves a provocation procedure which
triggers each individual smoker’s craving for his or her preferred cigarette brand prior to the administration of therapy.
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After installation of our system, we offer high quality
service, technical support, and repair to customers. Customers leasing the device generally receive support including maintenance and
warranty for repairs and replacements during the full term of the lease. In contrast, customers purchasing the device receive this support
for the first year following purchase. Thereafter, the warranty and support can be extended on a yearly basis by paying a set fee.
Our marketing activities include, amongst other things, corporate
presence in major commercial and professional conferences, press releases, advertising, participation in open house and other similar
events, social media, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), and other internet-based promotional campaigns, and release of both direct and
online marketing materials, which are all designed to increase the use of our systems for the authorized indications.
In recent years, we have increased our marketing efforts
directed at large clinic networks or chains and enterprise accounts and on multi-unit sales. As these transactions account for an increasing
portion of our installed-base and commercial pipeline, there is a correlating increased financial risk imposed by our reliance on these
deals, particularly in the event of customer default or delays in payment. See the sections titled “—Customers”
above and “Risk Factors – A significant portion of our revenues have been derived from a single customer. Material or significant
loss of business from this customer could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.”
Outside of the United States
Approximately 15%, 19% and 25% of our revenues for the
fiscal years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively, were generated outside of the United States. A significant part of
our sales outside the United States are made indirectly with local distributors and agents. Most of our sales outside the United States
are made via the purchase model, although we lease some of our Deep TMS systems as well, and in Israel we have several sites which have
engaged with us under a pay-per-use model, which also entails the provision of certain treatment administration, patient scheduling and
other related services performed by operators who are contracted by the Company. Our primary focus is on selling to hospitals, medical
centers and clinics dealing with the treatment of psychiatric neurological and addiction illnesses and disorders.
Our non-U.S. sales are managed both by our internal team in
Israel and by local agents in various countries. In Israel, we do not use a distributor and our sales team distributes directly to our
customers. We have exclusive distribution agreements in various territories, including, notably, in Canada, Japan, South Korea, Thailand,
Taiwan, the Philippines, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Singapore, Belgium, Greece and India, and are seeking new distribution partners
for other strategic markets. Under our distribution agreements, the distributor typically receives an exclusive right to commercialize
our Deep TMS system in the relevant territory. The exclusivity is contingent upon fulfillment of certain quotas, or pre-defined minimum
orders of a number of systems per period. We have the right to cancel the exclusivity of the distributor if the distributor fails to fulfill
the set targets. The distributor is required to pay us for each Deep TMS system installed in the territory.
The duration of these agreements varies between distributors
and ranges between three and ten years. In territories in which we use a local distributor, the distributor is generally responsible for
obtaining and maintaining the regulatory approvals required for marketing of Deep TMS systems in the territory and for the installation,
training, and maintenance of the systems in the relevant territory. In Japan, we have obtained PMDA regulatory approval for our Deep TMS
system, which is a precondition to receiving reimbursement coverage under the Japanese National Health Insurance Plan. After working extensively
with our Japanese distributor with the relevant bodies in Japan, in 2024 we succeeded in updating the guidelines issued by the Japanese
Society of Psychology and Neurology to include coverage for Deep TMS. Commercial sales of our systems thus commenced in 2024, and our
Japanese distributor has initiated a Post Marketing Study (PMS) in Japan to assess the efficacy and safety of our treatment on the local
population, which is a required commercialization criteria for this territory.
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We aim to increase our marketing and sales outside the United
States by means of cultivating and supporting our existing distributors, and by considering other strategic opportunities in various markets.
Success of penetration in each country is contingent on a variety of factors, including, among others, the strength and capabilities of
the distribution partner, the existence of regulatory approvals, the availability of reimbursement, the support of key opinion leaders,
and the ability of customers to adopt our technology.
Our Clinical Pipeline
Set forth below is a table presenting the status of our currently planned clinical pipeline:
Additional Potential Deep TMS Applications
Our primary focus for additional potential applications for
Deep TMS include neurological and/or addiction disorders. For instance, we announced pilot study results from a randomized, placebo-controlled,
double-blind study on the safety and efficacy of Deep TMS in reducing alcohol consumption and craving in adults with Alcohol Use Disorder
(AUD). Analyzing data from 46 subjects, the study demonstrated that subjects in the active group had an average of 2.9% heavy drinking
days (defined as a day on which four or more drinks were consumed for women, or five or more drinks for men) compared to 10.6% heavy drinking
days in the sham group. We are currently considering pursuing further alcohol treatment research including via our rotational field technology.
In December 2024, positive pilot data was released from
an independent, third-party study conducted at Stanford University evaluating an accelerated protocol using our Deep TMS technology to
treat AUD patients. The outcomes were reported in a publication in the Brain Stimulation journal titled, “Accelerated deep TMS in
alcohol use disorder: A preliminary pilot trial targeting the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex increases neural target engagement and
abstinence.” The study compared outcomes achieved in a residential treatment program on a group of AUD patients treated with our
H7-Coil (n=5) using an “accelerated” protocol of multiple sessions of Deep TMS per day over several days, with those achieved
in a previously collected sample of data from patients in the same program (n=39) who had undergone other forms of treatment not involving
Deep TMS. In the follow-up period after treatment, subjects receiving accelerated Deep TMS showed notably better improvements when compared
to those treated by other means. The better outcomes were seen in several important areas, including lower percentages of heavy drinking
days (3% v. 22%) and regular drinking days (15% v. 28%), as well as lower relapse rates (60% v. 74%). The study also reported neuroimaging
MRI changes in brain activity and connectivity in areas of the brain implicated in addiction disorders and believed to be predictive of
AUD relapse. Shortly following publication of the pilot study, the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded approximately $1.5
million to the same research team to explore the efficacy of our Deep TMS system in treating substance use addictions, underscoring the
possibility of utilizing Deep TMS as a noninvasive treatment modality within the broader addiction space.
Following the positive feasibility data on AUD, the Company
launched a multicenter, randomized, placebo controlled study on AUD subjects in 2026, investigating the safety and efficacy of a new AUD
protocol administered on its next generation “Rotational Field” Deep TMS (or “Deep TMS 360°™”) system
which is under development.
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We have conducted clinical trials evaluating Deep TMS for a variety of neurological and psychiatric conditions and believe further investigation could pave the way for marketing authorizations in new indications in the United States and expand the potential for treatment to a wider range of patients. Recent areas of focus include post- stroke rehabilitation and OCD treatment using an accelerated protocol, which we are currently exploring via feasibility studies, also utilizing our next generation Deep TMS 360° system. Factors that contribute to how we prioritize the pursuit of certain clinical studies include, but are not limited to, the strength of our feasibility clinical data, market potential, required budget, and ease of conduct of the trial. However, there is no guarantee that we will ultimately be successful in obtaining marketing clearance for the indications prioritized for further study or any other new indications.
Competition
The industry for the treatment of mental health diseases,
disorders, and other conditions is intensely competitive. Our currently marketed Deep TMS system is, and any future indications, expansions
or new treatment methods we develop and commercialize will be, subject to intense competition. Our Deep TMS system for MDD competes with
existing antidepressant drugs, other TMS therapies and to a lesser degree, more invasive treatments such as ECT, VNS, and DBS. Our Deep
TMS system for OCD also competes with existing medications and other available treatments. The industry in which we operate is subject
to rapid change and is highly sensitive to the introduction of new products or other market activities of current or new industry participants.
Certain competitors may be larger and have greater resources than us, and may develop treatment options that receive faster regulatory
approvals and/or are more rapidly adopted by clinicians and patients or may expand their operations by partnering with, or acquiring,
healthcare providers, mental health clinic chains or other mental health service providers. Our competitors compete with us on the basis
of efficacy and safety, regulatory approvals, price and availability of reimbursement from third-party payors, ease of use/administration
of the treatment option, reputation, and market trends. Key competitive factors affecting the commercial success of the Deep TMS system
are likely to be efficacy, safety and tolerability, reliability, convenience and time frame of administration, market acceptance of our
products relative to alternative treatments, and availability and scope of reimbursement.
Competitors that sell other forms of TMS therapy for MDD include
Neuronetics, MagVenture, Magstim, Neurocare (MAG & More), Cloud TMS, Nexstim, Yingchi Medical, Sebers, Magnus Medical, NeuroQuore,
Ampa, and BTL that compete directly with us. Their systems are typically based on traditional TMS utilizing a figure-8 coil and are generally
FDA-cleared for MDD. MagVenture and Neuronetics have also received FDA clearance for OCD, although these competitors did not conduct randomized,
controlled studies as a predicate to receiving such clearance. By contrast, our unique Deep TMS H-Coils are designed to address a number
of different brain disorders. Several competitors have obtained 510(k) clearance for their TMS device for an OCD indication, using our
de novo classification as a predicate device in their submission, and others may follow suit. We remain the only company to have
proven clinical efficacy for this indication based on a randomized, double-blind, placebo- controlled, multicenter trial, while other
competitors that have since obtained FDA clearance for this indication, have done so in part relying on our clinical data. BrainsWay remains
the only company currently with marketing authorizations for MDD, OCD, and the treatment of smoking addiction.
Another competitive issue we have faced within the TMS
field arises from increasing interest in “accelerated” dosing schedules which involve multiple sessions each day to allow
for quicker overall treatment time. We accumulated our own data for years demonstrating the potential efficacy of various accelerated
Deep TMS protocols for many years. For example, scientific personnel within our Company have been involved in research on accelerated
protocols. More recently, following an October 2023 peer-reviewed publication in the Psychiatry Research Journal. In June 2024, we launched
a prospective, randomized, controlled, multicenter clinical trial on accelerated Deep TMS for depression. After our announcement in June
2025 that the results of the trial demonstrated that the accelerated Deep TMS protocol resulted in outcomes that were comparable to the
standard once-daily TMS protocol, the FDA cleared the protocol in September 2025. For more information concerning the clinical study see
“Deep TMS for MDD” above.
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We also face competition from
pharmaceutical and other companies that develop competitive products, such as antidepressant medications (including but not limited to
a nasal spray utilizing the drug esketamine approved by the FDA for use in conjunction with an oral antidepressant), with certain competitive
advantages such as widespread market acceptance, ease of patient use and well-established reimbursement. We also face competition from
TMS competitors touting accelerated protocols, including Ampa and Magnus Medical. The latter markets its SAINT™ neuromodulation
protocol, which involves 50 sessions of TMS over a 5-day period with the assistance of functional MRI targeting , which was FDA-cleared
for the treatment of MDD in 2024. In addition, we may face competition from ketamine, which is used as an anesthetic to treat a variety
of brain disorders. Currently in clinical trials, there are a number of psychedelics including lysergic acid diethyamide (LSD), psilosybin,
DMT, and methylendioxymethamphetatmine (MDMA) showing early promise in the treatment of mental health conditions like depression and
PTSD. Our commercial opportunity could be reduced or eliminated if these competitors develop and commercialize antidepressant medications
or other treatments that are safer, more effective or more convenient than Deep TMS. At any time, these and other potential market entrants
may develop treatment alternatives that may render our products uncompetitive or less competitive. In addition, we could face competition
by AUVELITY (dextromethorphan HBr -bupropion HCl) extended-release tablets for the treatment of MDD in adults, which are the first and
only oral N-methyl D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist approved for the treatment of MDD. Notwithstanding our strategic investment
in Neurolief, the developer of a wearable neuromodulation device that can be used to treat treatment resistant depression patients at
home, additional potential competition could be posed by other at-home neurostimulation devices such as the FDA-approved device manufactured
by Flow Neuroscience.
We are also subject to competition from
invasive neuromodulation therapies such as ECT, VNS, and DBS. Major players in this space include Abbott, Boston Scientific Corporation,
LivaNova, and Medtronic. For example, the VNS system developed by Cyberonics (now LivaNova) is FDA-approved for MDD.
For smoking addiction, there are a wide range of prescription
and over-the-counter (OTC) short term aids in smoking cessation. Two prescription medications that are synonymous with the market are
Chantix® (varenicline) and Zyban (buproprion). OTC nicotine replacement therapies continue to play a major role in a multi-modal approach
to smoking cessation, with common forms ranging from chewing gums, to lozenges, to transdermal patches.
Digital therapeutics, including prescription digital
therapeutics (PDTs), are also gaining popularity in the space of mental health treatments given the availability and affordability of
smart phones. For all of the conditions we address in the United States, there are numerous popular phone applications to help reinforce
the multi-modal treatment algorithms.
In addition, we may face competition in the future from
other noninvasive treatments for MDD (including anxious depression), OCD, and smoking addiction. Examples of noninvasive treatment options
in early development include low-intensity and low-frequency ultrasound (LIFU), transcranial laser therapy, and infrared therapy. We cannot
predict whether any of these or any other treatment options will succeed in clinical trials or be commercially marketable in the future.
Intellectual Property
See “Item 5. Operating and Financial Review and Prospects - C. Research
and Development, Patents and Licenses.”
Government Grants
As of December 31, 2025, we have received grants from the IIA in an aggregate amount of approximately
$13.4 million. We are currently required to pay 3% royalties of sales of our Deep TMS products, which payment obligations do not currently
exceed the amount of the grant received (in U.S. dollars), plus interest at an annual rate equal to the 12-month SOFR rate plus 0.71513%.
As of December 31, 2025, we have paid royalties to the IIA in an aggregate amount of approximately $7.6 million (including amounts in
respect of accrued interest), with remaining outstanding royalties of up to $8.8 million.
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In addition, we received from MAGNET approvals for grants in an aggregate amount of NIS 8.2 million (approximately $2.6 million based on the NIS to USD exchange rate as of December 31, 2025). There is no requirement to repay the grants or pay royalties thereon.
Manufacturing and Supply
We manage all aspects of product supply through our Jerusalem
and/or U.S.-based operations teams. We manufacture our proprietary H-Coils and outsource the manufacture of certain components, including
the stimulator, the computer controlling the stimulator, cooling system, the helmet, and the arm of the helmet, which are produced and
tested to our specifications. We assemble Deep TMS systems at our headquarters in Jerusalem, U.S. warehouses and/or installation sites.
In some cases, we rely on third-party providers to provide components used in existing products and we expect to continue to do so for
future products. Our production activities also include manually assembling certain components of our devices for all required clinical
and commercial quantities, and the integration of all components into a functioning Deep TMS system.
We rely on suppliers for most of the components used
in manufacturing Deep TMS, including the stimulator, computer controlling the stimulator, the helmet, the arm of the helmet, and various
other components. We manage our arrangements with our third-party manufacturers and suppliers to adjust delivery schedules and quantities
of components to match our changing manufacturing requirements. We forecast our component needs based on historical trends, current utilization
patterns, and sales forecasts of future demand. We establish our relationships with our third-party manufacturers and suppliers through
supplier contracts and purchase orders. In most cases, these supplier relationships may be terminated by either party upon short notice.
The prices that we pay for sourced components vary depending on various factors, including the cost of the raw materials required for
those components, our required delivery times, and shipping costs.
In order to mitigate the risks related to a single-source
of supply, we qualify alternative suppliers when possible, maximize the use of commercial, off-the-shelf components and materials, minimize
specialized or proprietary manufacturing processes, and develop contingency plans for responding to disruptions, including maintaining
adequate inventory of any critical components. For further discussion of the risks related to our supply chain, see “Risk Factors
– Our operations could be affected in the event of further geopolitical instability, war, supply chain disruptions, unfavorable
market or political conditions, global pandemics or other outbreaks or other negative global trends or disruptions”. To date,
the supply of finished products to our customers and clinicians has not been materially adversely affected as a result of component supply
issues.
We are subject to extensive governmental regulation in connection
with the manufacture of our devices. We must ensure that all of the processes, methods, and equipment are compliant with the current Quality
System Regulations (QSR) for devices on an ongoing basis, mandated by the FDA and other regulatory authorities, and must conduct extensive
audits of vendors, contract laboratories and suppliers. We comply with such regulatory requirements. Certain of our foreign marketing
authorizations require compliance of said manufacturing process with the ISO 13485 standard and with the Medical Device Single Audit Program
(MDSAP), with which we are compliant.
Reimbursement
We estimate that over 90% of the total private insurer adult
covered lives in the United States have coverage for reimbursement of MDD treatment with Deep TMS, available after one to four failed
(inadequate response or intolerable) trials of antidepressant medications. In addition, our MDD treatment with Deep TMS is eligible for
reimbursement from Medicare, and is available after one to two failed trials of psychopharmacologic agents (such as antidepressant medications)
and subject to the satisfaction of other clinical criteria. Typically, payors (including Medicare) will provide reimbursement for up to
36 treatment sessions of Deep TMS for MDD, although the maximum number of covered sessions varies by insurer and/or location.
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In recent years, United HealthCare has updated their Medicare
Advantage policy in states covered by National Government Services Medicare to allow non-physician practitioners, like nurse practitioners,
to order and administer TMS Therapy to their patients with MDD in states where they have scope of practice to do so. Similarly, Aetna
nationwide commercial plans (with 26.7 million covered lives), have allowed TMS treatment to be ordered and administered by behavioral
health nurse practitioners for patients with MDD, and has removed the previously required four-month psychotherapy trial before a patient
becomes eligible to receive an initial course of treatment with TMS. BlueCross BlueShield of Michigan (with 5.1 million covered lives)
and BlueCross BlueShield of Louisiana (with 1.9 million covered lives) have also issued healthcare policies updates reducing the number
of failed medication trails from four down to two prior to TMS treatment eligibility.
Regarding reimbursement coverage for Deep TMS for the treatment
of OCD, there are over 86 million covered lives eligible for coverage as of March 2026. Positive coverage decisions for Deep TMS for OCD
have been issued by Centene Corporation (with 28 million covered lives), Health Care Service Corporation (HCSC) (with 23 million covered
lives), Cigna Corporation (with 19.8 million covered lives), Highmark (with 7.1 million covered lives), BlueCross BlueShield of Michigan
(with 5.1 million covered lives), Premera (with 2.8 million covered lives) and LifeWise (with 1.5 million covered lives). Additionally,
one of the seven Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) in the US, Palmetto GBA, published a final Local Coverage Determination (LCD)
in 2022 extending coverage applicable to Deep TMS for OCD. While the criteria for this emerging Deep TMS for OCD coverage varies with
each payor, generally, coverage requires the failure of between two and four medication trials before qualifying for reimbursement. Our
strategy is to look for ways to facilitate increased coverage for OCD treatment by more payors, including both commercial and governmental.
In addition, there is currently an out-of-pocket market for our Deep TMS systems for OCD. Deep TMS for smoking addiction is not currently
eligible for reimbursement. We plan to seek to obtain coverage as we progress in our commercialization for this indication. In October
2023 the Clinical TMS Society, an influential peer group, published the first coverage recommendations for smoking addiction, which we
have highlighted as part of our efforts to educate payors.
The sale or lease of a medical device utilized for in-office
medical treatments depend, in part, on the extent to which such treatments using that device will be covered by third-party payors, such
as government healthcare programs (e.g., Medicare), private insurance, and managed healthcare organizations. Even if a third-party payor
covers a particular treatment, the resulting reimbursement payment rates may not be adequate to cover a provider’s cost to purchase
such medical device or ensure that purchase or lease will be profitable for the provider. Additionally, patients who are treated in-office
for a medical condition generally rely on third-party payors to reimburse all or part of the costs associated with the treatment and may
be unwilling to undergo such treatment in the absence of coverage and adequate reimbursement.
Reimbursement by a third-party payor may depend upon a number
of factors, including the third-party payor’s determination that a treatment is: neither experimental nor investigational; safe,
effective, and medically necessary; appropriate for the specific patient; cost-effective; supported by high quality evidence published
in peer reviewed medical journals; included in clinical practice guidelines; and supported by medical community acceptance and demand.
Physician reimbursement under Medicare generally is
based on a defined fee schedule, or the Physician Fee Schedule, through which payment amounts are determined by the relative values of
the service rendered in a physician office setting or by a physician in a facility setting. Medicare coverage for TMS also has specific
patient history requirements. Medicare coverage for Deep TMS generally requires one to two failed (inadequate response or intolerable)
trials of psychopharmacologic agents (such as antidepressant medications).
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In the United States, there is no uniform policy of coverage
and reimbursement among private third-party payors. Reimbursement rates from private payors vary depending on the procedure performed,
the commercial payor, contract terms, and other factors. Private third-party payors often rely upon Medicare coverage policy and payment
limitations in setting their own reimbursement policies, but also have their own methods and approval process apart from Medicare coverage
and reimbursement determinations. Private insurance coverage for Deep TMS has traditionally required three to four failures of antidepressant
medications. However, many payors have now reduced the number of prior failed medication trials needed to qualify for Deep TMS for MDD.
Specifically, 250 million covered lives in the U.S. with commercial coverage now qualify for Deep TMS for MDD after two to three failed
medication trials, and all Medicare Administrative Contractors (MACs) have issued Local Coverage Determinations (LCDs) qualifying approximately
68 million lives in the U.S. for Medicare reimbursement after just one to two failed medication trials.
Coverage and reimbursement for treatments can differ significantly
from payor to payor. Decisions regarding the extent of coverage and amount of reimbursement to be provided for an in-office treatment
are made on a plan-by-plan basis. One payor’s determination to provide coverage for a specific treatment does not assure that other
payors will also provide coverage and adequate reimbursement.
In addition, the U.S. federal government and state legislatures
have continued to implement cost containment programs, including price controls and restrictions on coverage and reimbursement. Governmental
and private insurers are increasingly challenging the price, examining the medical necessity, and reviewing the cost-efficacy of medical
services. Adoption of price controls and cost containment measures by any such payors, and adoption of more restrictive policies in jurisdictions
with existing controls and measures, could limit our market opportunity and reduce our revenues.
Private insurers currently cover treatments using our
Deep TMS system for MDD, and there is now emerging coverage from various payors for Deep TMS therapy for OCD. We are actively engaged
in efforts to facilitate increased coverage for OCD treatment by more payors, including both commercial and governmental. Reimbursement
is not yet available for Deep TMS for smoking addiction or for therapies currently under development for other indications.
Nonetheless, we can provide no assurances that we will
be able to obtain a wide range reimbursement coverage for OCD nor any reimbursement coverage for smoking addiction, and even if obtained,
we can provide no assurance that the coverage will be at the same levels as we have for MDD.
We are also working to include Deep TMS in additional insurance
coverage policies in the United States and in other jurisdictions in which we operate. In regions where we have appointed a local distributor,
where reasonable, it is typically required under our agreements that the distributor utilize efforts to obtain reimbursement coverage
for Deep TMS in the relevant territory on our behalf.
In June 2022, for the first time, the Israeli Ministry of
Health approved coverage applicable it our Deep TMS system for the treatment of depression. The inclusion of the treatment within Israel’s
health basket of essential medical services means that Israel’s health funds must now make the treatment available to qualifying
patients free of charge. Qualifying patients include adults over the age of 21 with depression who have either not responded to two prior
antidepressants, or who are intolerant to other treatment alternatives. Coverage may be provided for up to 40 treatment sessions, which
are to be administered in hospitals. In addition, in September 2024, the Israel Ministry of Defense’s Rehabilitation Department
granted approval for the reimbursement of Deep TMS therapy for qualifying patients with PTSD at Israeli public hospitals. In Australia,
in November 2021, for the first time, coverage applicable to Deep TMS for MDD was granted for adults over the age of 18. Coverage in Australia
is available for 35 treatment sessions.
Government Regulation
United States
Our products and our operations are subject to
extensive regulation by the FDA and other federal and state authorities in the United States, as well as comparable authorities in foreign
jurisdictions. Our products are subject to regulation as medical devices under the U.S. Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), as
implemented and enforced by the FDA. The FDA regulates the development, design, non-clinical and clinical research, manufacturing, safety,
efficacy, labeling, packaging, storage, installation, servicing, recordkeeping, premarket clearance or approval, import, export, adverse
event reporting, advertising, promotion, marketing and distribution, and import and export of medical devices to ensure that medical
devices distributed domestically are safe and effective for their intended uses and otherwise meet the requirements of the FDCA.
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FDA Premarket Clearance and Approval Requirements
Unless an exemption applies, each medical device commercially
distributed in the United States requires either FDA clearance of a 510(k) premarket notification or premarket approval, or PMA. Under
the FDCA, medical devices are classified into one of three classes - Class I, Class II or Class III - depending on the degree of risk
associated with each medical device and the extent of manufacturer and regulatory control needed to ensure its safety and efficacy. Class
I includes devices with the lowest risk to the patient and are those for which safety and efficacy can be assured by adherence to the
FDA’s general controls for medical devices, which include compliance with the applicable portions of the QSR facility registration
and product listing, reporting of adverse medical events, and truthful and non-misleading labeling, advertising, and promotional materials.
Class II devices are subject to the FDA’s general controls, and special controls as deemed necessary by the FDA to ensure the safety
and efficacy of the device. These special controls can include performance standards, post-market surveillance, patient registries, special
labeling requirements, premarket data requirements and FDA guidance documents. While most Class I devices are exempt from the 510(k) premarket
notification requirement, manufacturers of most Class II devices are required to submit to the FDA a premarket notification under Section
510(k) of the FDCA requesting permission to commercially distribute the device. The FDA’s permission to commercially distribute
a device subject to a 510(k) premarket notification is generally known as 510(k) clearance. Devices deemed by the FDA to pose the greatest
risks, such as life-sustaining, life-supporting or some implantable devices, or devices that have a new intended use, or use advanced
technology that is not substantially equivalent to that of a legally marketed device, are placed in Class III, requiring approval of a
PMA.
Our Deep TMS system is classified as a Class II medical device.
For MDD, smoking addiction, and subsequently granted applications relating to MDD (including a 3- minute Theta Burst protocol, a labeling
expansion to include reduction of comorbid anxiety symptoms among depressed patients and an expansion of the labeling for late- life MDD),
we obtained FDA marketing authorization through the 510(k) clearance process. For OCD, we obtained FDA marketing authorization through
the de novo classification process. Subsequent changes made to our Deep TMS system will be made through one or more of the various
existing FDA review pathways.
510(k) Marketing Clearance Pathway
To obtain 510(k) clearance, we must
submit to the FDA a premarket notification submission demonstrating that the proposed device is “substantially equivalent”
to a predicate device already on the market. A predicate device is a legally marketed device that is not subject to premarket approval,
i.e., a device that was legally marketed prior to May 28, 1976 (pre-amendments device) and for which a PMA is not required, a device that
has been reclassified from Class III to Class II or I, or a device that was found substantially equivalent through the 510(k) process.
The FDA’s 510(k) clearance process usually takes nine to 12 months, but may take significantly longer. The FDA may require additional
information, including clinical data, to make a determination regarding substantial equivalence. If the FDA agrees that the device is
substantially equivalent to a predicate device currently on the market, it will grant 510(k) clearance to commercially market the device.
If the FDA determines that the device is “not substantially equivalent” to a previously cleared device, the device is automatically
designated as a Class III device. The device sponsor must then fulfill more rigorous PMA requirements, or can request a risk-based classification
determination for the device in accordance with the de novo classification process, which is a route to market for novel medical
devices that are low to moderate risk and are not substantially equivalent to a predicate device.
Premarket Approval Process
A PMA application must be submitted
if the medical device is in Class III (although the FDA has the discretion to continue to allow certain pre-amendment Class III devices
to use the 510(k) process) or cannot be cleared through the 510(k) process. A PMA application must be supported by, among other things,
extensive technical, pre-clinical, clinical trials, manufacturing, and labeling data to demonstrate to the FDA’s satisfaction the
safety and effectiveness of the device.
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After a PMA application is submitted and filed, the FDA
begins an in-depth review of the submitted information, which typically takes between one and three years, but may take significantly
longer. During this review period, the FDA may request additional information or clarification of information already provided. Also,
during the review period, an advisory panel of experts from outside the FDA will usually be convened to review and evaluate the application
and provide recommendations to the FDA as to the approvability of the device. In addition, the FDA will conduct a pre-approval inspection
of the manufacturing facility to ensure compliance with the QSR, which imposes extensive design development, testing, control, documentation
and other quality assurance procedures in the design and manufacturing process. The FDA may approve a PMA application with post-approval
conditions intended to ensure the safety and effectiveness of the device including, among other things, restrictions on labeling, promotion,
sale, distribution, and collection of long-term follow-up data from patients in the clinical study that supported approval. Failure to
comply with the conditions of approval can result in materially adverse enforcement action, including the loss or withdrawal of the approval.
New PMA applications or supplements are required for significant modifications to the manufacturing process, labeling of the product and
design of a device that is approved through the PMA process. PMA supplements often require submission of the same type of information
as an original PMA application, except that the supplement is limited to information needed to support any changes from the device covered
by the original PMA application, and may not require as extensive clinical data or the convening of an advisory panel.
De novo Classification Process
Medical device types that the FDA has not previously
classified as Class I, II, or III are automatically classified as Class III regardless of the level of risk they pose. The Food and Drug
Administration Modernization Act of 1997 established a new route to market for low to moderate risk medical devices that are automatically
placed into Class III due to the absence of a substantially equivalent predicate device, called the “Request for Evaluation of Automatic
Class III Designation,” or the de novo classification process. This process allows a manufacturer whose novel device is automatically
classified as Class III to request down-classification of its medical device into Class I or Class II on the basis that the device presents
low or moderate risk, rather than requiring the submission and approval of a PMA application. Prior to the enactment of the Food and Drug
Administration Safety and Innovation Act, or FDASIA, in July 2012, a medical device could only be eligible for de novo classification
if the manufacturer first submitted a 510(k) premarket notification and received a determination from the FDA that the device was not
substantially equivalent to a predicate device. The FDASIA streamlined the de novo classification pathway by permitting manufacturers
to request de novo classification directly without first submitting a 510(k) premarket notification to the FDA and receiving a
“not substantially equivalent” determination. We obtained marketing authorization for the OCD indication for our Deep TMS
system using the direct de novo request classification process.
We have used the 510(k) clearance process to obtain
authorization from the FDA for changes to our marketed Deep TMS system, including applications extending our clearances to our proprietary
stimulator, and expansions to our MDD indication which now allow us to market a shorter 3 minute depression protocol as well the ability
to market our MDD therapy for the reduction of comorbid anxiety symptoms among depressed patients, and we received an extension for the
FDA clearance of our H7 Coil for treatment of MDD (including anxious depression). In June 2024, the FDA granted us an expanded indication
for our Deep TMS system allowing for the treatment of patients with MDD ages 22 to 86, changing the previous upper age limit of 68. This
expanded clearance made our Deep TMS the first and only form of TMS indicated for the treatment of patients over the age of 68 suffering
from MDD, including those with comorbid anxiety symptoms. In September 2025, the FDA cleared an expansion of our cleared treatment protocols
for our Deep TMS systems to include an accelerated protocol for the treatment of patients with MDD, including those with comorbid anxiety
symptoms. In November 2025, the FDA granted us an expanded indication for our Deep TMS system allowing for the treatment of adolescent
patients (ages 15-21) with depression as an adjunct therapy. This represented our 12th FDA clearance
and made our Deep TMS the first and only form of TMS indicated for the treatment of patients between the ages of 15 to 86 suffering from
MDD, including those with comorbid anxiety symptoms.
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Clinical Trials
A clinical trial is typically required to support a PMA application
or de novo classification, and is sometimes required for a 510(k) premarket notification. Clinical trials for significant risk
devices generally require submission of an application for an Investigational Device Exemption, or IDE, to the FDA. The IDE application
must be supported by appropriate data, such as animal and laboratory testing results, showing that it is safe to test the device in humans
and that the investigational protocol is scientifically sound. The IDE application must be approved in advance by the FDA for a specified
number of patients, unless the product is deemed a non-significant risk device and eligible for more abbreviated IDE requirements. Clinical
trials for a significant risk device may begin once the IDE application is approved by the FDA as well as the appropriate institutional
review boards (IRBs), at the clinical trial sites, and the informed consent of the patients participating in the clinical trial is obtained.
After a trial begins, the FDA may place it on hold or terminate it if, among other reasons, it concludes that the clinical subjects are
exposed to an unacceptable health risk. Any trials we conduct must be conducted in accordance with FDA regulations as well as other federal
regulations and state laws concerning human subject protection and privacy. Moreover, the results of a clinical trial may not be sufficient
to obtain clearance or approval of the product.
Changes to Marketed Devices
After a device receives 510(k) marketing clearance, or de
novo classification, any modification that could significantly affect its safety or efficacy, or that would constitute a major change
or modification in its intended use, will require a new 510(k) marketing clearance or, depending on the modification, a de novo
classification or PMA. The FDA requires each manufacturer to determine whether the proposed change requires submission of a 510(k) or
a PMA in the first instance, but the FDA can review any such decision and disagree with a manufacturer’s determination. Many minor
modifications today are accomplished by a manufacturer documenting the change in an internal letter-to-file. The letter-to-file is in
lieu of submitting a new 510(k) to obtain clearance for every change. The FDA can always review these letters to file in an inspection.
If the FDA disagrees with a manufacturer’s determination, the FDA can require the manufacturer to cease marketing and/or request
the recall of the modified device until 510(k) marketing clearance or PMA is obtained. Also, in these circumstances, the manufacturer
may be subject to significant regulatory fines or penalties.
Post-market Regulation
After a device is cleared or approved for marketing, numerous and extensive regulatory
requirements continue to apply. These include:
● establishment registration and device listing with the FDA;
● QSR requirements, which require manufacturers, including third-party manufacturers, to follow stringent design, testing, control, documentation, and other quality assurance procedures during all aspects of the design, manufacturing, and distribution process;
● labeling and marketing regulations, which require that promotion is truthful, not misleading, fairly balanced, and provide adequate directions for use and that all claims are substantiated, and also prohibit the promotion of products for unapproved or “off-label” uses and impose other restrictions on labeling;
● FDA guidance on off-label dissemination of information and responding to unsolicited requests for information;
● clearance or approval of product modifications to 510(k)-cleared devices that could significantly affect safety or efficacy or that would constitute a major change in intended use of one of our cleared devices;
● medical device reporting regulations, which require that a manufacturer report to the FDA if a device it markets may have caused or contributed to a death or serious injury, or has malfunctioned and the device or a similar device that it markets would be likely to cause or contribute to a death or serious injury or serious adverse events, if the malfunction were to recur;
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● correction, removal and recall reporting regulations, which require that manufacturers report to the FDA field corrections and product recalls or removals if undertaken to reduce a risk to health posed by the device or to remedy a violation of the FDCA that may present a risk to health;
● complying with regulations requiring Unique Device Identifiers (UDI) on devices and also requiring the submission of certain information about each device to the FDA’s Global Unique Device Identification Database (GUDID);
● the FDA’s recall authority, whereby the agency can order device manufacturers to recall from the market a product that is in violation of governing laws and regulations; and
● post-market surveillance activities and regulations, which apply when deemed by the FDA to be necessary to protect the public health or to provide additional safety and efficacy data for the device.
We may be subject to similar foreign laws that may include
applicable post-marketing requirements such as safety surveillance and risk-benefit analysis. Our manufacturing processes are required
to comply with the applicable portions of the QSR, which cover the methods and the facilities and controls for the design, manufacture,
testing, production, processes, controls, quality assurance, labeling, packaging, distribution, installation, and servicing of finished
devices intended for human use. The QSR also requires, among other things, maintenance of a device master file, device history file, and
complaint files. As a manufacturer, we are subject to periodic scheduled or unscheduled inspections by the FDA. Our failure to maintain
compliance with the QSR requirements could result in the shut-down of, or restrictions on, our manufacturing operations, and the recall
or seizure of our products. The discovery of previously unknown problems with any of our products, including unanticipated adverse events
or adverse events of increasing severity or frequency, whether resulting from the use of the device within the scope of its clearance
or off-label by a physician in the practice of medicine, could result in restrictions on the device, including the removal of the product
from the market or voluntary or mandatory device recalls.
The FDA has broad regulatory compliance and enforcement
powers. If the FDA determines that we failed to comply with applicable regulatory requirements, it can take a variety of compliance or
enforcement actions, which may result in any of the following sanctions:
● warning letters, untitled letters, fines, injunctions, consent decrees, and civil penalties;
● recalls, withdrawals, or administrative detention or seizure of our products;
● operating restrictions or partial suspension or total shutdown of production;
● refusing or delaying requests for 510(k) marketing clearance or PMA approvals of new products or modified products;
● withdrawing 510(k) clearances or PMA approvals that have already been granted;
● refusal to grant export or import approvals for our products; or
● criminal prosecution.
U.S. and Foreign Healthcare Laws and Compliance Requirements
Healthcare providers, physicians, and third-party payors
play a primary role in the recommendation, prescription, and payment for medical treatments. A medical device manufacturer’s arrangements
with third-party payors, providers, and patients may expose it to broadly applicable fraud and abuse and other healthcare laws and regulations
that may affect its business or the financial arrangements and relationships through which it markets, sells and distributes its products.
Even if a medical device manufacturer does not control referrals of healthcare services or bill directly to Medicare, Medicaid or other
third-party payors, federal, and state healthcare laws and regulations are applicable to its business. In addition, portions of our business
may be subject to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). To the extent we provide any covered entity
customers with services that involve the use or disclosure of protected health information (PHI) we may be required to enter into business
associate agreements. Business associates are also directly liable for compliance with HIPAA. The laws that may affect a medical device
manufacturer’s ability to operate include, but are not limited to:
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● the federal healthcare Anti-Kickback Statute, which prohibits, among other things, persons and entities from knowingly and willfully soliciting, receiving, offering or providing remuneration (broadly interpreted to include anything of value), directly or indirectly, overtly or covertly, in cash or in kind, to induce or reward either the referral of an individual for, or the purchase, lease, order, or arrange for or recommend a good or service for which payment may be made, in whole or in part, under a federal healthcare program, such as Medicare and Medicaid. The government can establish a violation of the Anti-Kickback Statute without proving that a person or entity had actual knowledge of the law or a specific intent to violate. Moreover, the government may assert that a claim for reimbursement that includes items resulting from a violation of the federal healthcare Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the federal civil False Claims Act. Although there are a number of statutory exceptions and regulatory safe harbors to the federal healthcare Anti- Kickback Statute protecting certain common business arrangements and activities from prosecution or regulatory sanctions, the exceptions and safe harbors are drawn narrowly. Practices that involve remuneration to those who prescribe, purchase, or recommend medical device products, including discounts, or engaging individuals as speakers, consultants, or advisors, may be subject to scrutiny if they do not fit squarely within an exception or safe harbor. Our practices may not in all cases meet all of the criteria for safe harbor protection from anti-kickback liability. Moreover, there are no safe harbors for many common practices, such as reimbursement support programs, educational or research grants, or charitable donations;
● the federal civil False Claims Act (FCA), which prohibits, among other things, individuals or entities from knowingly presenting, or causing to be presented, false or fraudulent claims for payment of federal government funds, and knowingly making, using or causing to be made or used a false record or statement material to a false or fraudulent claim to avoid, decrease or conceal an obligation to pay money to the federal government. Private individuals, commonly known as “whistleblowers,” can bring FCA qui tam actions, on behalf of the government and themselves, and may share in amounts paid by the entity to the government in recovery or settlement. False Claims Act liability is potentially significant in the healthcare industry because the statute provides for treble damages and mandatory penalties of $14,308 to $28,619 per false or fraudulent claim or statement. Many pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers have been investigated and have reached substantial settlements under the FCA in connection with alleged off label promotion of their products and allegedly providing free products to customers with the expectation that the customers would bill federal healthcare programs for the product. In addition, a claim including items or services resulting from a violation of the federal healthcare Anti-Kickback Statute constitutes a false or fraudulent claim for purposes of the FCA. Moreover, manufacturers can be held liable under the FCA even when they do not submit claims directly to government payors if they are deemed to “cause” the submission of false or fraudulent claims. There are also criminal penalties, including imprisonment and criminal fines, for making or presenting false, fictitious or fraudulent claims to the federal government;
● the federal Physician Self-Referral Law, commonly known as the Stark Law, which prohibits physicians from referring Medicare and Medicaid patients to healthcare entities in which they or any of their immediate family members have ownership interests or other financial arrangements, if these entities provide certain designated health services reimbursable by Medicare or Medicaid, unless an exception applies. The Stark Law also prohibits entities that provide designated health services reimbursable by Medicare and Medicaid from billing the Medicare and Medicaid programs for any items or services that result from a prohibited referral and requires the entities to refund amounts received for items or services provided pursuant to the prohibited referral on a timely basis. Sanctions for violating the Stark Law include denial of payment, civil monetary penalties and exclusion from the federal healthcare programs. Failure to refund amounts received as a result of a prohibited referral on a timely basis may constitute a false or fraudulent claim and may result in civil penalties and additional penalties under the federal False Claims Act;
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● the federal Anti-Inducement Law (also known as the Civil Monetary Penalties Law), which prohibits a person from offering or transferring remuneration to a Medicare or State healthcare program beneficiary that the person knows or should know is likely to influence the beneficiary’s selection of a particular provider, practitioner or supplier of any item or service for which payment may be made, in whole or in part, by Medicare or a State healthcare program;
● HIPAA, which prohibits and imposes criminal liability for, among other things, knowingly and willfully executing or attempting to execute a scheme to defraud any healthcare benefit program, including private third party payors, knowingly and willfully embezzling or stealing from a healthcare benefit program, willfully obstructing a criminal investigation of a healthcare offense, and knowingly and willfully falsifying, concealing or covering up a material fact or making any materially false, fictitious or fraudulent statement or representation, or making or using any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious or fraudulent statement or entry in connection with the delivery of or payment for healthcare benefits, items or services. Similar to the federal healthcare Anti-Kickback Statute, a person or entity does not need to have actual knowledge of the statute or specific intent to violate it to have committed a violation;
● HIPAA, as amended by the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH), and their implementing regulations, which imposes privacy, security, transmission, and breach reporting obligations with respect to individually identifiable health information upon entities subject to the law, including health plans, healthcare clearinghouses, and certain healthcare providers and their respective business associates that perform services on their behalf that involve individually identifiable health information. HITECH also created new tiers of civil monetary penalties, amended HIPAA to make civil and criminal penalties directly applicable to business associates, and gave state attorneys general new authority to file civil actions for damages or injunctions in federal courts to enforce the HIPAA laws and seek attorneys’ fees and costs associated with pursuing federal civil actions;
● the federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act, created under the PPACA, which requires certain manufacturers of drugs, devices, biologics and medical supplies reimbursed under Medicare, Medicaid, or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (with certain exceptions) to report annually to the United States Department of Health and Human Services information related to payments or other transfers of value made to physicians (defined to include doctors, dentists, optometrists, podiatrists, and chiropractors), and teaching hospitals, as well as ownership and investment interests held by physicians and their immediate family members. Beginning in 2022, applicable manufacturers were also required to report information regarding payments and transfers of value provided to physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified nurse anesthetists, and certified nurse-midwives; and
● foreign and state law equivalents of each of the above federal laws, such as anti-kickback and false claims laws, that may impose similar or more prohibitive restrictions, and may apply to items or services reimbursed by any non-governmental third-party payors, including private insurers; state laws that require device manufacturers to comply with the industry’s voluntary compliance guidelines and the applicable compliance guidance promulgated by the federal government or otherwise restrict payments that may be made to healthcare providers and other potential referral sources; state laws that require device manufacturers to report information related to payments and other transfers of value to physicians and other healthcare providers or marketing expenditures and pricing information; and other federal and state laws that govern the privacy and security of health information or personally identifiable information in certain circumstances, including state health information privacy and data breach notification laws which govern the collection, use, disclosure, and protection of health-related and other personal information, many of which differ from each other in significant ways and often are not preempted by HIPAA, thus requiring additional compliance efforts and data privacy and security laws and regulations in foreign jurisdictions that may be more stringent than those in the United States (such as the European Union, which adopted the General Data Protection Regulation, which became effective in May 2018).
Because of the breadth of these laws and the narrowness
of their statutory exceptions and regulatory safe harbors, it is possible that some of a medical device manufacturer’s business
activities could be subject to challenge under one or more of these laws. The scope and enforcement of each of these laws is uncertain
and subject to rapid change in the current environment of healthcare reform, especially in light of the lack of applicable precedent and
regulations on some issues. Federal and state enforcement bodies have recently increased their scrutiny of interactions between healthcare
companies and healthcare providers, which has led to a number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and settlements in the healthcare
industry.
Ensuring that business arrangements with third parties
comply with applicable healthcare laws and regulations is costly and time consuming. If a medical device manufacturer’s operations
are found to be in violation of any of the laws described above or any other governmental regulations that apply to it, it may be subject
to civil, criminal and administrative penalties, damages, fines, disgorgement, substantial monetary penalties, individual imprisonment,
exclusion from governmental funded healthcare programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, additional reporting obligations and oversight
if it becomes subject to a corporate integrity agreement or other agreement to resolve allegations of non-compliance with these laws,
reputational harm, diminished profits and future earnings, and the curtailment or restructuring of operations, any of which could adversely
affect the ability of a medical device manufacturer to operate its business and the results of its operations.
United States Healthcare Reform
In the United States, a number of legislative and regulatory
proposals have been considered or enacted to change the healthcare system in ways that could affect a medical device manufacturer’s
business. Among policy makers and governmental and private insurers in the United States, there is significant interest in promoting changes
in healthcare systems with the stated goals of containing healthcare costs, improving quality or expanding access. For example, in 2010,
the PPACA was enacted, which includes measures to significantly change the way healthcare is financed by both governmental and private
insurers, and significantly impacts the medical device industry. Among other ways in which it may impact a medical device manufacturer’s
business, the PPACA:
● establishes a new Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute to oversee and identify priorities in comparative clinical efficacy research in an effort to coordinate and develop such research;
● implements payment system reforms including a national pilot program on payment bundling to encourage hospitals, physicians, and other providers to improve the coordination, quality, and efficiency of certain healthcare services through bundled payment models; and
● expands the eligibility criteria for Medicaid programs.
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Some of the provisions of the PPACA have yet to be implemented,
and there have been judicial and Congressional challenges to modify, limit, or repeal certain aspects of the PPACA since its enactment
and it has continued to evolve. During his first term as president, President Trump supported the repeal of all or portions of the PPACA,
and in January 2017, he signed Executive Orders designed to delay the implementation of certain provisions of the PPACA or otherwise circumvent
some of the requirements for health insurance mandated by the PPACA to the maximum extent permitted by law. Due to such efforts, certain
elements of the PPACA have been invalidated or suspended, which has, in turn, led to additional challenges against the law as a whole.
For example, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 included a provision repealing, effective January 1, 2019, the tax-based shared responsibility
payment imposed by the PPACA on certain individuals who fail to maintain qualifying health coverage for all or part of a year that is
commonly referred to as the “individual mandate”. As a result, there is significant uncertainty regarding future healthcare
reform and its impact on our operations. In December 2018, a district court in Texas held that the individual mandate is unconstitutional
and that the rest of the PPACA is, therefore, invalid. On appeal, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals
affirmed the holding on the individual mandate but remanded the case back to the lower court to reassess whether and how such holding
affects the validity of the rest of the PPACA. The Fifth Circuit’s decision on the individual mandate was appealed to the U.S. Supreme
Court. On June 17, 2021, the Supreme Court held that the plaintiffs (comprised of the state of Texas, as well as numerous other states
and certain individuals) did not have standing to challenge the constitutionality of the PPACA’s individual mandate and, accordingly,
vacated the Fifth Circuit’s decision and instructed the district court to dismiss the case. As a result, the PPACA will remain in-effect
in its current form for the foreseeable future; however, we cannot predict what additional challenges may arise in the future, the outcome
thereof, or the impact any such actions may have on our business, and there is even greater uncertainty given President Trump’s
second term.
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The Biden administration also introduced various measures
in 2021 with a focus on healthcare and drug pricing, in particular. For example, on January 28, 2021, President Biden issued an executive
order that initiated a special enrollment period for purposes of obtaining health insurance coverage through the PPACA marketplace, which
began on February 15, 2021, and remained open through August 15, 2021. The executive order also instructed certain governmental agencies
to review and reconsider their existing policies and rules that limit access to healthcare, including among others, reexamining Medicaid
demonstration projects and waiver programs that include work requirements and policies that create unnecessary barriers to obtaining access
to health insurance coverage through Medicaid or the PPACA. On the legislative front, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 was signed
into law on March 11, 2021, which, in relevant part, eliminates the statutory Medicaid drug rebate cap, currently set at 100% of a drug’s
average manufacturer price, for single source drugs and innovator multiple source drugs, beginning January 1, 2024. And, on August 16,
2022, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) was signed into law. Among other things, the IRA requires manufacturers of certain drugs
to engage in price negotiations with Medicare (with negotiated drug prices beginning in 2026), imposes rebates under Medicare Part B and
Medicare Part D to penalize price increases that outpace inflation (first due in 2023), and replaces the Part D coverage gap discount
program with a new discounting program beginning in 2025. The IRA also authorizes the United States Department of Health and Human Services
to implement many of these provisions through guidance, as opposed to regulation, for the initial years. We cannot yet assess the impact
that the IRA will have on the medical-products industry, but it will likely be significant.
There is seemingly constant evolution with regard to healthcare
in the United States, and we cannot predict what healthcare programs and regulations may be implemented or changed at the federal and/or
state level or the effect of any future legislation or regulation on our business or that of our current or prospective customers, suppliers,
and/or the U.S. healthcare industry as a whole.
It is possible that recent and/or future initiatives could
have an adverse effect on our ability to obtain or maintain approvals and/or successfully commercialize products in the United States
in the future. For example, any changes that reduce, or impede the ability to obtain, reimbursement for the type of products we currently
market, or may commercialize in the future (as applicable), in the United States would likely have an adverse effect on our business and
profitability.
Outside of the United States
In addition to U.S. regulations, we are subject to a variety
of regulations in other jurisdictions governing clinical trials and commercial sales and distribution of our products. Whether or not
we obtain FDA clearance or approval for a product, we must obtain authorization before commencing clinical trials or obtain marketing
authorization or approval of our products under the comparable regulatory authorities of countries outside of the United States. The marketing
authorization process varies from country to country and the time may be longer or shorter than that required for FDA clearance or approval.
We also have received European Conformity (CE) marking
in the European Economic Area (EEA) and in Israel for MDD, OCD, and smoking addiction, and 9 other indications in psychiatry, addiction
treatment, and neurology. Additional regulatory approvals have also been obtained for Deep TMS in various other existing and potential
territories, including, for example, in Canada and India. Sales and marketing of medical devices outside of the United States are subject
to foreign regulatory requirements that vary widely from country to country. The time required to obtain appropriate marketing authorizations
from other foreign authorities may be longer or shorter than that required for FDA approval. Whether or not we have obtained FDA approval,
our Deep TMS systems may be subject to different regulatory requirements in other jurisdictions. The foreign regulatory approval process
includes all the risks associated with FDA regulation, as well as country-specific risks and regulations.
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Employees
Our employees include professionals with extensive experience
in medical device development and applications, neurology and psychopathology, pre-clinical experimentation, clinical development, and
business development. As of December 31, 2025, we had 129 employees, of which 49 were based in the United States and 80 were based outside
of the United States (in Israel). Our U.S. employee base includes 46 employees in sales, marketing, and service/operations, 2 employees
in medical affairs, and 1 general and administrative employee. Our Israeli employee base includes 36 employees in clinical trials, research
and development, production, quality control, and service/operations, 7 employees in sales and marketing, and 37 general, administrative
and operations employees.
While none of our employees are party to any collective
bargaining agreements, certain provisions of the collective bargaining agreements between the Histadrut (General Federation of Labor in
Israel) and the Coordination Bureau of Economic Organizations (including the Industrialists’ Associations) are applicable to our
employees by order of the Israel Ministry of Labor. Such orders are part of the employment related laws and regulations which apply to
our employees and set certain mandatory terms of employment. Such mandatory terms of employment primarily concern the length of the workday,
minimum daily wages, pension plan benefits for all employees, insurance for work-related accidents, procedures for dismissal of employees,
severance pay and other conditions of employment. We generally provide our employees with benefits and working conditions beyond the required
minimums.
We have never experienced an employment-related work stoppage and we believe our
relationship with our employees is good.
Environmental Matters
We are subject to various environmental, health and safety
laws and regulations, including those governing noise emissions. We believe that our business, operations, and facilities are being operated
in compliance in all material respects with applicable environmental and health and safety laws and regulations. Based on information
currently available to us, we do not expect environmental costs and contingencies to have a material adverse effect on us. Significant
expenditures could be required in the future, however, if we are required to comply with new or more stringent environmental or health
and safety laws, regulations or requirements.
Legal Proceedings
We are named as a co-defendant in a lawsuit by a patient alleging
hearing loss following his enrollment in one of our clinical studies and we are defending this matter. There are also various employment-related
claims (brought by former employees) and collection matters (stemming from debt accrued by certain of our customers, including larger
national/enterprise customers and/or customers with multi-system orders).
The Neurolief Transaction
In August 2025, we entered into a set of agreements with Neurolief,
an Israeli private company developing a neuromodulation system, and its stakeholders, aiming to expand our total addressable market. This
transaction marks our entrance into the market for mental health therapies that can be administered outside of a clinic, including at
home.
Neurolief is a pioneering neuromodulation company dedicated to developing innovative solutions for mental health and neurological disorders. Neurolief’s breakthrough Proliv™Rx device is the world’s first wearable, non-invasive, multi-channel brain neuromodulation platform that is designed for use at home. Neurolief's Relivion®MG therapy is currently approved in the U.S., Europe and Japan for the treatment of migraine, and it is awaiting Premarket Approval from the U.S. FDA for its ProlivTMRx therapy addressing MDD in treatment resistant patients.
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Neurolief Investment Agreement and Call Option
In August 2025, we entered into a multi-phased investment and potential acquisition agreement with Neurolief, consisting of an Investment Agreement providing for up to $16 million in funding across three installments and a Call Option Agreement granting us the right to acquire all of Neurolief's outstanding equity interests (in addition to the equity interests then held by us). The initial investment consisted of a $5 million convertible loan bearing interest at the minimal Israeli tax rate, with a three-year maturity and one-year grace period, which converts in certain scenarios into Series S-1 Preferred Shares representing approximately 13% of Neurolief’s fully diluted share capital at a $30 million pre-money valuation. An additional amount of $6 million (the “second closing”) was invested in March 2026 after Neurolief achieved an FDA-related milestone defined in the agreement (i.e., receipt
of FDA approval of Neurolief's Proliv Rx neurostimulation system for depression as an adjunctive treatment which may be administered at home for treatment-resistant depression patients), in the form of a loan which is convertible into Series S-2 Preferred Shares at a $45 million pre-money valuation. The third and final potential investment of up to $5 million in Series S-3 Preferred Shares is milestone-based, requiring Neurolief to achieve $10 million in trailing 12-month revenues based on US GAAP reviewed financials, at a $55 million pre-money valuation on a fully diluted basis.
We also received governance rights from the initial closing
through a Special Share that grants board representation and veto rights over key corporate decisions, including M&A transactions,
capital structure changes, and material business decisions, and received the right to appoint one director initially and two directors
following the second closing.
In connection with the investment, we were granted a call
option to acquire all outstanding equity interests in Neurolief, or the Neurolief Call Option, with a structured exercise timeline consisting
of three distinct periods: (i) an initial exercise period from closing until 12 months after the second closing, (ii) a 24-month non-exercise
period during which the Neurolief Call Option is suspended, and (iii) a final 6-month exercise window following the expiration of the
non-exercise period. The exercise price is calculated based on Neurolief's equity value derived from the greater of specified minimum
enterprise value thresholds ($65 million during the initial period, increasing to $90 million during the final period) or 4.5 times trailing
six-month annualized revenues, adjusted for debt and cash, minus the pro rata portion based on our ownership percentage.
In certain limited circumstances (e.g. upon exercise of the
Neurolief Call Option, exit, etc.) we also agreed to cover up to $1 million of Neurolief’s payout to employees (in lieu of options
previously granted which are out of the money and will not be exercised).
There can be no assurance as to, and we cannot currently estimate,
whether and when Neurolief will reach the milestone for the third potential investment and whether and when we will decide to exercise
the call option.
FDA Approval of Neurolief’s Proliv™Rx Neuromodulation
System for MDD
In January 2026, the FDA granted a premarket approval (PMA) to Neurolief’s Proliv™Rx Neuromodulation System as an adjunctive treatment for adult patients suffering from MDD who have failed to achieve satisfactory improvement from at least one previous antidepressant medication, for use at home or in the clinic. As a result of this FDA approval, Neurolief’s Proliv™Rx Neuromodulation System became the first and only FDA approved at-home neuromodulation device with Class III Premarket Approval labeling for MDD patients who failed one or more prior antidepressants.
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MSOs Holdings and Transactions
During 2025, we entered into several strategic transactions
involving minority investments in Management Service Organizations (MSOs), which provide services to clinical providers of Deep TMS and
other mental health therapies. These investments are part of our ongoing strategy to help raise awareness for and expand access to transformative
care.
Stella MSO, LLC
Stella MSO, LLC, or Stella, is a management services organization servicing more
than 20 mental health clinics across the U.S. and Israel that have treated over 30,000 patients to date.
On June 5, 2025, we consummated the acquisition of Class E
Preferred Units (preferred, 8% annual compounding units) of Stella representing approximately 4.7% of the issued and outstanding equity
of Stella, for an aggregate investment of $5 million. Under the terms of the Stella subscription agreement, after November 29, 2029, we
can request Stella to buy back our units in consideration for the unpaid preference amount. Stella is a manager-managed LLC and in addition
to the manager has an advisory board. We have the right to appoint one member of Stella’s advisory board as long as we hold more
than 2% of Stella’s issued and outstanding equity. The agreements governing our holdings in Stella also include certain minority
rights granted to us, including the right to participate in certain future sales of units by other members.
Axis Integrated Mineral Health
Axis Management Company, Inc., or Axis, is a management services
organization servicing several mental health clinics in Colorado.
On August 21, 2025, we consummated the acquisition of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock (annually compounding) of Axis representing approximately 29.5% of the issued and outstanding equity of Axis, for an aggregate investment of $2.3 million. Under the terms of the Axis stock purchase agreement include an additional potential $1 million milestone-based investment. The Axis agreement also provides us a three-month put option commencing four years from consummation of the transaction at a price based on the higher of an EBITDA multiple (five times EBIDTA for the preceding 12 months) or the purchase price plus a 25% annual compounded return and provides Axis and its stockholders a three-month call option commencing three years from the consummation of the transaction for the put option price. We are entitled to appoint a third of Axis’ board members and were granted certain customary minority veto rights
and a liquidation preference. On March 19, 2026, following the achievement of a predefined revenue performance milestone under the strategic equity financing agreement, we invested an additional $1.0 million in Axis, in the form of preferred, annually compounding securities.
Tangient ATX Inc. (Heading Health)
Tangient ATX Inc., or Tangient, is a management services organization servicing
the rapidly growing “Heading Health” mental health clinic network with multiple sites throughout Texas.
On October 30, 2025, we consummated the acquisition of Series A-4 Preferred Stock (preferred, annually compounding) of Tangient, representing approximately 10% of the issued and outstanding equity of Tangient, for an investment of $1.5 million. The Tangient stock purchase agreement includes undertakings to invest up to an additional $2.5 million via three equal milestone-based investments if, during the one-year period following closing, (i) sites 5 and 6 each independently achieved 400 visits per month for any two calendar months, (ii) each of sites 7, 8 and 9 achieved 150 visits per month for any two calendar months, and (iii) Tangient opened six additional clinics identified as sites 10 through 15 and such clinics collectively achieved at least 250 visits from their respective opening dates, in each case subject to the terms of the agreement. The Tangient agreement also provides us a limited-time put option
at each closing anniversary commencing four years from consummation of the transaction at a price equal to the amount invested plus an 8% annual compounded interest and provides Tangient a limited-time call option at each closing anniversary commencing three years from the consummation of the transaction for the put option price. We are entitled to appoint a third of Tangient’s board as long as we hold a certain minimum number or percentage of stock and were granted certain customary minority veto rights, dividend preference and liquidation preference.
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BrainStim Health Inc.
BrainStim is a provider based in British Columbia servicing
a growing number of mental health clinics in Canada.
On February 19, 2026, we entered into a strategic equity financing agreement with BrainStim, under
which we will invest $1.0 million initially, with potential for an additional $1.5 million via two milestone-based investments, for a
minority position in BrainStim in the form of a preferred, annually compounding security. The BrainStim agreement also provides for one-year
put and call options commencing three years from consummation of the transaction at a price based on a minimum return on the investment.
We are entitled to appoint an observer to BrainStim’s board members as long as we hold a certain minimum number or percentage of
stock and were granted certain customary minority veto rights, dividend preference and liquidation preference.
MSOs - Regulatory Requirements
MSO arrangements with physician-owned or clinician-owned professional
entities are subject to regulatory scrutiny and may be challenged by regulators, private litigants or payors. If any MSO structure or
related contractual arrangements are determined to be non-compliant with applicable law or regulatory guidance, the MSO or affiliated
clinics could be subject to civil or criminal penalties, repayment obligations, exclusion from government healthcare programs, required
restructuring of operations, or termination of key commercial relationships, which could adversely affect the value of our investment.
At the state level, the ability of MSOs to conduct business
and the structure of their operations depends on each state’s laws, regulations, and policies governing, among other issues, the
corporate practice of medicine (CPOM), fee-splitting, and the assumption of financial risk. In several states, laws and regulations, guidance
from professional licensing boards or state attorneys general and judicial doctrines prohibit corporations and other entities not owned
by physicians or other permitted health professionals from practicing medicine and other professions. These laws and doctrines have been
interpreted in some states to prohibit entities not owned by permitted professionals from employing physicians and other professionals
and to prohibit such entities from undertaking activities that could be seen as exercising control over healthcare provider professional
judgment. Some states also have adopted restrictions on direct or indirect payments to, or entering into fee-splitting arrangements with,
physicians and unlicensed persons or business entities. These restrictions vary by state and are often vague and subject to interpretation
by state medical boards, state attorneys general and other regulatory authorities. These laws may also be interpreted by courts in a manner
inconsistent with our interpretations. Possible sanctions for violations of these restrictions include loss of a physician’s license
and civil and criminal penalties. In addition, agreements between the MSOs and clinics or physicians may be considered void and unenforceable,
adversely affecting the fees due to the MSOs, and requiring a restructuring of the MSOs’ relationship with the clinics.
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C. Organizational Structure
Our four subsidiaries, all of which
wholly-owned, are: BrainsWay, Inc., incorporated in Delaware on March 31, 2003; Brain Research and Development Services Ltd., incorporated
in Israel on August 13, 2003; BrainsWay USA Inc., incorporated in Delaware on November 24, 2014 and Tikva LLC, incorporated in Delaware
on February 24, 2025.
D. Property, Plants and Equipment
We have leased offices in Jerusalem, Israel, since November
2007. In 2024, we moved to a new building (across the street from our previous location) owned by an affiliate of our previous landlord
and which was built according to our custom specifications. Our new headquarters consist of approximately 1,730 square meters, including
administrative offices, research operations, central laboratory, and a warehouse. The initial lease term of the new space is 5 years beginning
July 14, 2024, with an automatic extension period of another 5 years unless terminated prior thereto. Under the terms of the agreement,
lease payments and management fees are pre-set according to an escalating price structure per year of the term, such that in the first
year of the lease, the fees, including management fees, amounted to approximately $48,730 plus value added tax, or VAT, per month, in
the aggregate, and are paid in NIS and are linked to the Israeli consumer price index. By the fifth year of the lease term, these fees
will amount to approximately $58,280 plus VAT per month, in the aggregate before applying the changes in the NIS-USD exchange rate that
have occurred since signing the agreement.
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We previously leased an office space in Boston, MA, where our previous CEO and CFO resided, in a
space comprised of 3,976 square feet leased at a rate of $8,118 per month and this lease expired in November 2024 and was not renewed.
While our U.S. employee base is spread throughout many states in the U.S. and thus largely work from home, we continue to explore the
possibility of securing a location for our US offices that is ideally suited to meet our present needs.