Firefly Neuroscience, Inc. Issues Letter To Stockholders On Proposed Merger With WaveDancer

Author: Benzinga Newsdesk | February 22, 2024 10:10am

Firefly Neuroscience, Inc. ("Firefly") Chief Executive Officer, Jon Olsen, issues letter to stockholders ahead of Firefly's proposed merger with WaveDancer, Inc. ("WaveDancer") (NASDAQ:WAVD) pursuant to that definitive merger agreement, entered into on November 15, 2023, as amended on January 12, 2024 (the "Merger Agreement"). The transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, and other proposals described therein, are subject to stockholder approval sought at a special meeting of the stockholders of WaveDancer to be held virtually on March 14, 2024, at 10:00 A.M. ET. Stockholders are encouraged to participate in the meeting online by visiting www.virtualshareholdermeeting.com/WAVD2024SM.

 

Dear Firefly and WaveDancer Stockholders,

As we approach the closing of Firefly's proposed merger transaction with WaveDancer (the "Merger"), I wanted to take this opportunity to provide stockholders of both companies with not only my perspective on the state of the mental health industry today, but more importantly how we believe our medical technology platform provides a next generation method of improving it by harnessing the power of artificial intelligence ("AI") and data.

We unfortunately are all too aware of the global health crisis in mental illness, as well as the increasing burden of neurologic conditions, with a growing population at risk for dementia, the impact it is having on our lives and the burden on healthcare providers to offer better solutions for people suffering from mental illnesses and cognitive disorders.   There is a need to provide medical professionals with innovative technologies to drive better outcomes for people suffering from a broad range of neurologic and mental health issues. For the most part, the diagnosis and treatment of mental health illnesses continues to be based on subjective assessments: "how the patient feels" and a "trial and error" approach to treatment, not on objective comparative data. Therefore, in many cases, inaccurate diagnoses are made, and medications are prescribed that may or may not work, ultimately only prolonging the effects of the illness on the patient.

We have spent the last decade and over $60 million developing our Brain Network Analytics software platform ("BNA™ Platform"), an FDA 510(k)-cleared, electroencephalogram ("EEG")-based data and analytics tool that provides medical professionals with an objective comparative assessment of brain function. Our BNA™ Platform gives clinicians and patients an objective, quantifiable assessment that we believe can be used to support accurate diagnosis of the condition and help clinicians understand if a treatment is working. The ability to compare a patient's brain function to that of a normative, age-matched FDA-cleared database supports clinicians in making objective and informed decisions to facilitate accurate diagnosis and treatment management.

We believe the BNA™ Platform is the largest standardized, longitudinal, multi-task, EEG database in the world. With over a decade of research and development, we are proud to have captured over 77,000 brain scans from over 17,000 patients at 106 sites in over 20 countries. Our unique database, along with our AI capabilities, are critical components for finding and validating clinically relevant high-precision biomarkers. We believe that EEG-based biomarkers provide the potential for improved diagnoses and better patient outcomes by choosing the right treatment.

Our AI-powered BNA™ Platform is cleared by the FDA and available commercially in the U.S. We are prioritizing our go-to-market strategy to focus on catering to the estimated over 13,800 active neurologists in the U.S. as of 2021 who are diagnosing and prescribing treatments for those suffering with neuropsychiatric conditions through a "razor/razor blade" subscription model. We estimate this segment of the mental health treatment population alone represents an over $1 billion and growing market opportunity.

We are also opportunistically exploring partnership opportunities with pharmaceutical companies in the neurologic space to facilitate and streamline their clinical development programs through understanding mechanism of action, pharmacodynamic monitoring, patient enrichment, and companion diagnostics. We have already partnered with global pharmaceutical companies and strongly believe that EEG data, processed by the BNA™ Platform, can be effective in neuroactive drug development by providing objectively measured brain activations that indicate normal or abnormal and potentially pathological neuronal processes.

We are committed to providing the BNA™ Platform as a precision medicine tool to optimize patient management and provide the right treatment to the right patient. We believe our next-generation method of improving mental health can bring new therapies to market quicker, reduce healthcare costs and provide better outcomes for patients, caregivers, and communities globally that are suffering from mental illnesses and cognitive disorders.

I want to express my deepest gratitude for the ongoing support of our Firefly and WaveDancer stockholders. Your belief in our mission and commitment to making a meaningful impact on the lives of those affected by neurologic and psychiatric illness drives us. Together, we are building a company that has the potential to improve health and bring hope to millions of individuals and their families.

As we navigate this transformative period towards the closing of our Merger, I am confident that Firefly will emerge stronger, more resilient, and better positioned to make significant contributions to healthcare. We are on an exciting journey, and I look forward to sharing more successes with you in the future.

Thank you for your continued trust and support.

Sincerely,

Jon Olsen, Chief Executive Officer of FireFly

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