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
Dompé Doses First Patient in Phase 3 Study of Cenegermin-bkbj in NAION14.7.2026 14:00:00 CEST | Press release
Non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION) is a loss of blood flow to the optic nerve which causes spontaneous and rapid vision loss, for which there are currently no FDA-approved treatments. Given the substantial unmet need for effective treatments in NAION, in October 2025, Dompé was awarded a Commissioner’s National Priority Review Voucher (CNPV) by the US FDA to accelerate a potential Biologics License Application for intranasal nerve growth factor (NGF) in NAION. Dompé, a biopharmaceutical company with operations in Italy and the US, announced the first patient has been enrolled in a Phase 3 study of cenegermin-bkbj for the treatment of non-arteritic anterior ischemic neuropathy (NAION). Involving more than 130 centers globally, the Phase 3 trial, “Galassia-NAION-301” is a multicenter, double-blind study comparing cenegermin-bkbj against placebo in improving vision loss caused by NAION. “Our NGF R&D program continues to accelerate with our third clinical study of 202
CE-IVDR Mark for Hologic’s Aptima® HPV Test Expanded to Include Self-Collected Sample Claim in Cervical Cancer Screening14.7.2026 14:00:00 CEST | Press release
New indication in the European Union and the UK offers alternative method of screening especially for women who are not currently participating Hologic, Inc. announced today that its Aptima® HPV Assay received an expanded CE-IVDR marking in the European Union and the UK and is now approved for self-collected vaginal samples using the Aptima Multitest Specimen Collection Kit. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260714358586/en/ Hologic’s Aptima® HPV Assay and Aptima Multitest Specimen Collection Kit Cervical cancer is the fourth most common cancer in women but is largely preventable through HPV vaccination and regular screening.1 Evidence shows that organized screening and early detection reduces deaths from cervical cancer, with mortality reduction rates in Europe ranging from 41% to 92%.2 However, even in countries with an established cervical screening program, screening participation rates vary widely, from 25%
Cover Genius Raises USD $100M Backed by Vista Credit Partners, Reaching USD $1.9 Billion Valuation as it Advances AI-First Platform and Global Expansion14.7.2026 14:00:00 CEST | Press release
Accelerating the AI roadmap and next era of embedded protection Cover Genius, the global infrastructure for embedded protection, today announced a USD $100M capital raise, backed by Vista Credit Partners, a subsidiary of Vista Equity Partners and strategic financing partner focused on enterprise software. The raise values the business at USD $1.9 billion, advancing a new chapter for the company. Cover Genius operates a B2B2C embedded protection platform that connects 200+ partners with 50+ global insurance carriers to protect over 70 million end customers at the point of sale across travel, retail, ticketing and logistics. Unlike traditional insurers, Cover Genius dynamically adapts product design, pricing, and presentation in real time to match each merchant's unique customer journey and geography mix. “We’ve spent more than a decade building the trust layer the world’s largest digital companies rely on to protect their customers. Today’s raise is about broadening possibilities: movin
Esri to Debut the Power of Where Collection at 2026 Esri User Conference14.7.2026 14:00:00 CEST | Press release
New Titles Expand on Landmark Work to Showcase How GIS Drives Better Decisions Across Water and Land Management Esri will debut the Power of Where Collection at the 2026 Esri User Conference. The collection builds on the 2024 book The Power of Where by Jack Dangermond, extending its ideas into real-world GIS applications. New titles in the collection highlight GIS uses in water forecasting, land records, infrastructure planning, and economic development. The series demonstrates how spatial analysis helps organizations address challenges including sustainability, climate resilience, and governance. Esri, the global leader in location intelligence, will debut the Power of Where Collection at the 2026 Esri User Conference in July. The collection builds on the ideas introduced in The Power of Where: A Geographic Approach to the World's Greatest Challenges, by Esri president Jack Dangermond, published in 2024. The new collection expands these foundational concepts into focused, real-world a
Esri Introduces ArcGIS for ServiceNow, Bringing Location Intelligence into Everyday Enterprise Workflows14.7.2026 14:00:00 CEST | Press release
New Integration Connects Platforms, Enabling Real-Time Mapping Directly Within Existing Systems Esri is launching ArcGIS for ServiceNow, an integration that connects ServiceNow, the AI control tower for business reinvention, with ArcGIS, bringing location intelligence into everyday enterprise workflows. The solution supports organizations across commercial, government, health care, utilities, energy, telecom, and other sectors. Users can visualize incidents, assets, work orders, facilities, and other business data on maps in real time within ServiceNow or ArcGIS, improving decision-making and operational efficiency. The integration eliminates data duplication by enabling seamless data sharing between systems, bridging business records with geographic context. ArcGIS for ServiceNow will debut in beta shortly after Esri User Conference. Esri, the global leader in geographic information system (GIS) technology, has announced ArcGIS for ServiceNow, connecting the two platforms for the firs
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