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
CRH to Acquire Aggregate Operations in Denmark and Finland7.10.2026 08:24:00 CEST | Press release
Transaction Advances CRH’s Strategy to Build Aggregates-led, Connected Portfolio Aligned With Growing Infrastructure Megatrends CRH (NYSE: CRH), the leading provider of building materials, today announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire NCC Industry’s operations in Denmark and Finland from NCC AB. NCC Industry develops, produces and sells stone materials and asphalt products for construction and infrastructure projects. In Denmark NCC Industry’s national network of asphalt plants, land and marine based aggregates sites, together with its substantial high-quality reserves, will significantly expand CRH's presence in the market and its exposure to demand from major road, infrastructure and industrial projects. While in Finland NCC Industry’s attractive network of reserve backed hard-rock quarries, backfilling and recycling operations will complement CRH’s existing operations and connected portfolio of businesses in the Finnish market. Peter Buckley, President, CRH Internationa
Exein and Deutsche Telekom IoT Partner to Secure the Next Generation of Connected Devices7.10.2026 08:00:00 CEST | Press release
The companies will combine device-level security with global IoT connectivity to strengthen security for connected devices The partnership follows Exein's $270 million funding round, which included T.Capital, Deutsche Telekom's strategic investment arm, among its backers Exein, a global leader in physical AI and runtime security, today announced a strategic partnership with Deutsche Telekom IoT to bring integrated security to connected devices across Deutsche Telekom IoT’s ecosystem. With its own transatlantic network and around 600 roaming and satellite partners, Deutsche Telekom IoT provides worldwide connectivity for customers across industries and markets. The partnership pairs Exein's device-level security with Deutsche Telekom IoT’s global connectivity capabilities, addressing a gap that is becoming more urgent as intelligent, business-critical applications move directly onto devices operating in the field — robots, drones and industrial machines acting autonomously and making de
Stop Hoping for Secure AI and Start Building It: RSA Agent ID Closes the Agentic Identity Gap for Highly Regulated Industries7.10.2026 06:00:00 CEST | Press release
As AI, sovereignty, and board-level accountability converge on identity, RSA Agent ID enables finance, government, and regulated industries to find and register agents, prove the authority behind every consequential action, and run it where they choose At World Summit AI in the Netherlands, RSA, the identity standard for government agencies, finance, and high-assurance organizations, today announced RSA Agent ID, the agentic identity security platform for highly-regulated industries. RSA Agent ID discovers, secures, and governs AI agents across their lifecycle, letting regulated organizations find and register agents, prove the authority behind every consequential action, and run it where they choose. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261006426797/en/ Three forces are reshaping how organizations operate, and they are arriving at once. AI is transforming work and pushing agents into production faster than securit
The Empire State Building Observation Deck Hosts Annual Run-Up, Presented by NYU Langone Health and Powered by Merrell7.10.2026 04:25:00 CEST | Press release
The Empire State Building (ESB) hosted the 48th Annual Empire State Building Observation Deck Run-Up, presented by NYU Langone Health and powered by Merrell. In several designated heats, more than 200 runners from across the world raced up the building’s 1,576 stairs to reach the finish line on the iconic 86th Floor Observation Deck. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261006766024/en/ The Empire State Building Observation Deck Hosts Annual Run-Up, Presented by NYU Langone Health and Powered by Merrell “Athletes gather from around the globe to participate in the Empire State Building Observation Deck Run-Up, the world’s preeminent tower race,” said Tony Malkin, chairman and CEO of Empire State Realty Trust. “We congratulate all who participated in this ultimate feat of endurance at Tripadvisor’s number one top attraction in the U.S.” Ryoji Watanabe of Japan took first place in the Men’s Elite heat with a time of 1
Phenom Adds Major Headline Speakers as IAMPHENOM Europe Approaches Sold-Out Status6.10.2026 15:30:00 CEST | Press release
Second wave of esteemed speakers to bring real-world guidance on applying AI, agents and automation to improve hiring, development and retention Phenom, the leader in applied AI built to redesign work operations for hiring faster, developing better and retaining longer, today announced the newest wave of speakers for IAMPHENOM Europe 2026, the only applied AI event dedicated to human resources taking place on 4-5 November in Paris, France. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261006714151/en/ Phenom announced the newest wave of speakers for IAMPHENOM Europe 2026, the only applied AI event dedicated to human resources taking place on 4-5 November in Paris, France. The two-day conference gives attendees what other HR events can’t: an inside look at AI agents already in production, automated workflows tailored to specific business contexts and the dramatic results they are already delivering. Across keynotes, customer
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