ONWARD
ONWARD today announced the publication of a study in the journal, Nature , which found targeted electrical spinal cord stimulation stabilizes blood pressure in people with spinal cord injury (SCI).
“A serious and underrecognized result of spinal cord injury is unstable blood pressure, which can have devastating consequences that reduce quality of life and are life threatening. Unfortunately, there are no effective therapies for unstable blood pressure after spinal cord injury,” said Dr. Aaron Phillips, PhD, a member of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute and Libin Cardiovascular Institute at the Cumming School of Medicine (CSM) and co-lead author of the study. “We created the first platform to understand the mechanisms underlying blood pressure instability after spinal cord injury, which allowed us to develop a new cutting-edge solution.”
Loss of movement and sensation are the most commonly known impacts of spinal cord injury, but SCI is also frequently accompanied by other effects that challenge activities of daily living. Blood pressure instability is one such effect, making it difficult for people with SCI to change body position – moving from lying to sitting to standing. In this study, researchers from University of Calgary, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), and University Hospital Lausanne (CHUV) demonstrated they could quickly and accurately normalize blood pressure with electrical spinal cord stimulation. Stabilization was observed in rodents and non-human primates for extended periods after acute and chronic spinal cord injury, and the approach also showed promise in humans.
This research is a breakthrough in the fundamental understanding of how blood pressure regulatory circuits function in people with SCI and sets the foundation for further studies assessing the use of electrical spinal cord stimulation to regulate blood pressure and other autonomic functions in people with SCI.
“We used similar concepts and technologies to restore walking after paralysis and are now pleased to leverage those advances to address this very common but serious effect of SCI,” said Dr. Grégoire Courtine, PhD, Professor at EPFL, Director of .NeuroRestore, and co-lead author of the study. “We look forward to working with ONWARD to conduct clinical trials in humans so this approach can be translated into a viable therapeutic option for people with SCI.”
This research will be further advanced by a $36 million contract granted by the United States Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) for a five-year project to develop neurotherapeutics that bridge the gap between the spinal cord and the brain after spinal cord injury. The DARPA contract enables an alliance of 12 institutions around the world that includes EPFL, University of Calgary and ONWARD to conduct groundbreaking research in the pursuit of new therapies for spinal cord injury. DARPA has helped develop major technological advancements including the internet, GPS and Speech Interpretation and Recognition Interface (SIRI.)
About ONWARD
ONWARD (@onwdempowered ), formerly known as GTX Medical, is a medical technology company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapies to facilitate functional recovery of people with spinal cord injury. Driven by a mission to restore movement, independence, and health in people with spinal cord injury, ONWARD’s work builds on more than a decade of basic science and preclinical research conducted at the world’s leading neuroscience laboratories. ONWARD’s ARC Therapy, which can be delivered by implantable (ARCIM ) or external (ARCEX ) systems, is designed to deliver targeted, programmed stimulation of the spinal cord to restore movement and other functions in people with spinal cord injury, ultimately improving their quality of life. Both of ONWARD’s technology platforms have been awarded Breakthrough Device Designation by the FDA.
ONWARD is headquartered at the High Tech Campus in Eindhoven, the Netherlands and the EPFL Innovation Park in Lausanne, Switzerland, with a growing U.S. presence in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. For additional information about the company, please visit ONWD.com and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn .
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210127005140/en/
Link:
About Business Wire
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Payments Modernisation: Gap Between Confidence and Readiness Among Industry Leaders Widens, ACI Worldwide Study Finds2.12.2025 08:00:00 CET | Press release
69% of payments executives see their organisations as leaders, yet fewer than half prioritise innovation as legacy systems and internal resistance slow progress Payments leaders remain confident about the pace of industry innovation, but many risk falling behind as expectations accelerate. New global research from ACI Worldwide (NASDAQ: ACIW) and Globant reveals a widening gap between confidence and readiness that could define industry leadership in 2026 and beyond. The report Payments in Transition: Leadership in an era of transformation, based on a survey of 500 industry leaders across North America, Europe, Latin America, Middle East & Africa, and Asia Pacific, shows that while 69% of executives consider their organisations to be payments leaders, fewer than half (44%) say payments innovation is a C-suite priority. This disconnect is driven by barriers that will become increasingly costly in the year ahead. More than half (55%) of executives admit they are not fully using the techno
Oulu Launches Its European Capital of Culture Year with a Three-day Opening Festival2.12.2025 07:00:00 CET | Press release
The Oulu2026 Opening Festival on 16–18 January 2026 transforms the city centre into a vibrant celebration of culture, community and northern creativity. It marks the beginning of a historic year and invites residents, visitors and partners from Finland, Europe and beyond to take part in a unique moment for Oulu and its 39 partner municipalities. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251201071170/en/ In January, Oulu’s city centre will transform into the Oulu2026 Opening Festival area. Photo: Harri Tarvainen / City of Oulu image bank. “After years of preparation, Oulu2026 is finally here. The Opening Festival gives everyone a chance to be part of something that will only happen once, and it all begins in the heart of Oulu,” says Piia Rantala-Korhonen, CEO of Oulu2026. Almost 200 events, over 20 venues The Opening Festival presents a wide range of art and cultural experiences all over the city centre. From exhibitions
Pre-filled Syringe Presentation of BYOOVIZ®, Samsung Bioepis' Biosimilar to Lucentis (Ranibizumab), Gains European Approval2.12.2025 07:00:00 CET | Press release
European Medicines Agency’s (EMA) Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) adopts positive opinion for BYOOVIZ® (ranibizumab) pre-filled syringe (PFS)PFS presentation to become available in Europe in the second quarter of 2026, after the full transition of commercial rights from Biogen back to Samsung Bioepis in January 2026 Samsung Bioepis Co., Ltd. today announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMA)’s Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has adopted a positive opinion for BYOOVIZ® pre-filled syringe (PFS), a biosimilar referencing Lucentis1 (ranibizumab). BYOOVIZ was first approved by the European Commission (EC) in August 2021 as a single use vial for intravitreal use (0.5 mg/0.05 ml) for the treatment of neovascular (wet) age-related macular degeneration (AMD), visual impairment due to diabetic macular oedema (DME), proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), visual impairment due to macular oedema secondary to retinal vein occlusion (branch RVO or
Murata Unveils World’s First 15nF/1.25kV C0G MLCC in 1210-inch Size2.12.2025 03:00:00 CET | Press release
Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (TOKYO: 6981) (ISIN: JP3914400001) announces the launch and mass production of its multilayer ceramic capacitor (MLCC) featuring a capacitance of 15nF, a rated voltage of 1.25kV, and C0G characteristics in the compact 1210-inch (3.2mm x 2.5mm) size. This product delivers highly efficient power conversion and stable performance under high-voltage conditions, making it suitable for onboard chargers (OBCs) in electric vehicles (EVs) and power supply circuits in high-performance consumer devices. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251201104421/en/ [Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.] 15nF/1.25kV/C0G MLCC in 1210-inch Size Resonant and snubber circuits are essential for efficient power conversion and suppressing current and voltage peaks. In both circuits, repeated exposure to high voltage and high current can cause even slight changes in component performance, leading to efficiency loss or
With 40% of Agentic AI Projects Predicted to Fail, Leading Software Developer Says Compliance Is the One Place Where Agentic AI Will Thrive2.12.2025 01:01:00 CET | Press release
Ideagen's CEO explains why binary outcomes and high stakes make compliance ideal for autonomous AI The CEO of one of the world’s leading global compliance software developers, Ideagen, has today (December 2, 2025) said compliance represents the one domain where autonomous AI will succeed – despite technology insights company Gartner® warning "… over 40% of agentic AI projects will be canceled by the end of 2027”. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251201511477/en/ Ben Dorks, Ideagen CEO Speaking at the launch of their own agentic AI platform Ideagen Mazlan, Ben Dorks said: “Autonomous AI will succeed in compliance because failure is measurable, stakes are high and outcomes are binary. “AI that continuously monitors jurisdictional or industry specific compliance frameworks, detects patterns across thousands of records, raises actions for others to follow, flags gaps before audits, autonomously? That's agentic. It
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom