ONWARD
27.1.2021 17:02:08 CET | Business Wire | Press release
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
Sumitomo Corporation, SMBC Aviation Capital, Apollo and Brookfield Complete the Acquisition of Air Lease Corporation8.4.2026 15:13:00 CEST | Press release
Sumitomo Corporation, SMBC Aviation Capital, Apollo-managed funds (“Apollo”) and Brookfield today announced that they have completed the previously announced acquisition of Air Lease Corporation (“Air Lease”) and have renamed the business Sumisho Air Lease Corporation (“Sumisho Air Lease”). This transformational transaction improves the financial position of the business with long term support and aviation expertise from co-investors Sumitomo Corporation, SMBC Aviation Capital, Apollo and Brookfield. Sumisho Air Lease’s strong foundation as an established aircraft lessor, supported by SMBC Aviation Capital’s industry‑leading capabilities as servicer, creates a platform with the scale and financial strength needed to meet the fast‑changing and increasingly complex requirements of airline customers. Sumisho Air Lease will also benefit from the deep expertise and long-standing commitment that both Sumitomo Corporation and SMBC Aviation Capital bring to the global aviation leasing sector.
Sitetracker Launches Scout, an Agentic AI Platform Purpose-Built for Critical Infrastructure8.4.2026 15:00:00 CEST | Press release
Sitetracker, the leading Asset Lifecycle Management platform for critical infrastructure, today announced the launch of Scout, its new Agentic AI platform designed to help infrastructure owners, operators, and contractors gain deep insights and drive automation within their operations. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260408923336/en/ Scout, ready for real work As your AI analyst and agent, Scout is ready to work on day 1. Scout provides clarity when decisions are forming and momentum when action is required. It surfaces risk, synthesizes information, and helps accelerate execution by connecting data and driving action. Scout creates operational intelligence and turns it into action all in a secure environment that protects data sovereignty. “Our customers are looking to create compounding competitive advantages,” said Giuseppe Incitti, Chief Executive Officer of Sitetracker. “Scout delivers by providing easy t
Westinghouse Hosts Annual VVER Fuel Forum with Customers8.4.2026 15:00:00 CEST | Press release
Westinghouse currently has fuel supply contracts with all the European VVER operators Westinghouse and MVM Paks Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) recently co-hosted the VVER Fuel Forum in Budapest to share insights and plans for the continued deployment of VVER-1000 and VVER-440 fuel in operating reactors. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260408646373/en/ Participants to the VVER Fuel Forum Péter János Horváth, CEO of MVM Paks, welcomed all the participants, highlighting that Hungary is ending two decades of single supplier fuel dependency thanks to the agreement recently signed with Westinghouse to supply the VVER-440 NOVA E-6 fuel design. Six customers presented the progress made and positive outcomes achieved in the past years with the introduction of Westinghouse fuel into mixed cores with resident fuel in their reactors: Energoatom has extensive experience with Westinghouse VVER-440 and VVER-1000 fuel, currently u
Virica Biotech and FUJIFILM Biosciences Collaborate Under the Canada–Japan Co‑Innovation Program to Advance AAV Production Enhancers8.4.2026 15:00:00 CEST | Press release
Efficient production of Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV) vectors at scale for in vivo gene therapies remains a key bottleneck for broad patient access and sustainable manufacturing costs.Virica and FUJIFILM Biosciences will co-develop an off-the-shelf enhancer–media solution to boost AAV yields and process robustness in FUJIFILM Biosciences BalanCD® HEK293 system. Virica Biotech (“Virica”), a cell enhancer company specializing in Viral Sensitizers (VSE™) for viral vector manufacturing, today announced it is receiving advisory services and funding from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP), under the Canada–Japan Corporate Co-Innovation Program for a collaboration with FUJIFILM Biosciences. The collaboration will focus on optimizing a VSE™ formulation for FUJIFILM Biosciences BalanCD HEK293 media to support academic and commercial AAV producers globally. AAV vectors are a cornerstone of in vivo gene delivery for gene therapies, but they re
Barilla Confirmed as the World’s Leading Food Company for Reputation - Ranking 9th Overall Globally8.4.2026 14:42:00 CEST | Press release
GLOBAL REPTRAK®100 2026For the third consecutive year, Barilla is confirmed as the world’s leading food company in the Global RepTrak® 100 and enters the overall Top 10 of global companies.The Group ranks 9th overall, up 16 positions compared to 2025. For the third year in a row, Barilla is confirmed as the world’s leading company in the food sector for reputation in the Global RepTrak® 100 ranking conducted by RepTrak, which since 1999 has annually analyzed the companies with the strongest reputations worldwide. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260407912080/en/ In the 2026 ranking, the Group reaches 9th place overall, moving up 16 spots compared to 2025 (ranked at 25th) and entering the global Top 10, confirming the company’s steady reputation‑building journey developed over the years. This result reflects Barilla’s ability to combine product quality, industrial vision and social responsibility – factors that
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