Firefly's stock soared 70%. The company has formed a new partnership to treat ADHD in children
Firefly Neuroscience Shares Soared on the Back of a New Partnership / Photo: Firefly Neuroscience
Shares of Firefly Neuroscience, a micro-cap developer of an AI-powered brain-scanning device, soared nearly 70% on September 25. The company announced a partnership with medical device manufacturer NeuroSigma to promote an alternative, non-drug treatment for ADHD in children.
Details
Firefly shares rose 69% on the Nasdaq on September 25, reaching $2—their highest level since early May. The company's market capitalization reached $31.5 million.
The rally was triggered by the company’s announcement of a partnership with the privately held NeuroSigma. Monarch, a medical device developed by NeuroSigma, is the first alternative to pills approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children.
In premarket trading on September 28, Firefly's share price is down 9%.
What is the basis of the partnership?
Firefly is the developer of the Evoke system, which is used in neurology and psychiatry, as well as in cognitive therapy—including for the treatment of concussions, ADHD, depression, and anxiety. However, the device itself does not treat patients—it scans the brain, uses artificial intelligence to compare the results with those in its database, and thus enables doctors to make a diagnosis and select a treatment plan. As of June 30, 85 medical centers in the U.S. were using the system—they access it through a subscription.
In March, the company announced that, using Evoke, it had identified new brainwave biomarkers and, as a result, had identified three subtypes of ADHD that likely require different treatment approaches.
NeuroSigma offers one such solution. Under the agreement, Firefly will supply NeuroSigma’s Monarch to medical centers that already use its system. This will combine the two technologies and enable patients to receive more personalized treatment, according to the press release. As of 2024, one in nine children in the U.S. alone had been diagnosed with ADHD, and one-third of them were not receiving treatment, the press release states.
Since the start of the year, Firefly’s stock price has risen by 128%. The biggest jump occurred in early March, when the company announced a significant increase in the number of its partners—medical centers—as well as in the number of examinations performed using Evoke. This, the micro-cap company stated, brings it closer to creating the world’s first model of the human brain powered by Nvidia graphics processing units.
