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
Colruyt Group Crosses the 150 Store Milestone With Rollout of Toshiba ELERA® Self Service Store Deployments8.10.2026 07:30:00 CEST | Press release
Toshiba’s ELERA® Self Service successfully deployed across Okay, Okay City, Spar Colruyt Group and Bio-Planet stores in Belgium Toshiba Global Commerce Solutions today announced the successful deployment of its ELERA® Self Service solution across 144 Colruyt Group stores: Okay, Okay City, Spar Colruyt Group and Bio-Planet. Today, 454 self-checkout systems have already been installed year-to-date across 150 stores. The project continues to expand, with an additional 51 stores planned in 2026 and further rollout in 2027. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261007465701/en/ Toshiba’s ELERA® Self Service successfully deployed across Okay, Okay City, Spar Colruyt Group and Bio-Planet stores in Belgium. The deployment was designed to support a fast, intuitive, and customer-friendly checkout experience, while maintaining the personal interaction that remains important within the convenience retail environment. Across the
Fall Clinical 2026: Galderma Presents New Three-Year Nemluvio® Data Showing Deep and Lasting Skin Lesion and Itch Responses in Patients With Atopic Dermatitis Aged 12 and Older8.10.2026 07:00:00 CEST | Press release
New Nemluvio® (nemolizumab) post-hoc data from the ARCADIA long-term extension (LTE) study showed the majority of Week 16 responders maintained deep and lasting skin lesion and itch response for up to three years1 Additional long-term data further demonstrate Nemluvio’s consistent safety profile and sustained efficacy, including improvements in skin clearance, itch, sleep and quality of life in adults with prurigo nodularis up to 148 weeks, and people with atopic dermatitis aged 12 and older up to 152 weeks2,3 Phase II pediatric data will also be presented, with nemolizumab driving meaningful and sustained improvements in children aged 2-11 years with moderate-to-severe atopic dermatitis4 Alongside a product theatre exploring how targeted IL-31 treatment may impact patient outcomes, these findings reinforce Galderma's leadership in advancing treatment goals in atopic dermatitis and prurigo nodularis Galderma (SIX: GALD), the pure-play dermatology category leader, today announced new da
Fuji Electric Joins Helical Fusion as Strategic Investor and Official Partner as Series B Second Close Raises JPY 3.23 Billion8.10.2026 02:00:00 CEST | Press release
Major Japanese industrial players join Helical Fusion as construction of Helix HARUKA advances through a public-private partnership spanning government, national research infrastructure, and Japan’s manufacturing sector Helical Fusion Co., Ltd., a fusion energy company developing a Helical Stellarator with the goal of achieving commercially viable fusion power in the 2030s, today announced the completion of a JPY 3.23 billion (approximately USD 20.6 million) Series B second close. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261007813917/en/ Helical Fusion and new investors for the Series B 2nd close The round marks another expansion of the industrial coalition forming around Helical Fusion’s Helix Program. Fuji Electric Co., Ltd., one of Japan’s major electrical and industrial equipment manufacturers, has joined Helical Fusion as both an investor and an Official Partner of the Helix Program. Other new investors in the sec
New INRIX Parking Scorecard Reveals Cities with the Most Parking, Highest Prices, and Lowest Availability7.10.2026 22:16:00 CEST | Press release
The Scorecard analyzes more than 120 downtown areas across North America and Europe, comparing parking availability, prices and curb use policies INRIX, a leader in transportation analytics and mobility intelligence, today released its first-ever INRIX Parking Scorecard, the largest comparative analyses of downtown parking conditions across North America and Europe. Drawing on parking availability, curb regulations, pricing data and parking infrastructure from more than 120 downtown areas in 14 countries, the report reveals significant differences in parking conditions and how cities allocate curb space. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261007322796/en/ New INRIX Parking Scorecard: Where Downtown Parking Costs Most The Scorecard examines parking availability: the probability of finding a parking space alongside on-street and off-street parking pricing, and curb use policies. The findings show that parking condi
Lattice Collaborates with Arm to Advance Secure, Adaptable AI Data Center Infrastructure7.10.2026 22:00:00 CEST | Press release
Lattice Semiconductor (NASDAQ: LSCC), the low power programmable and platform firmware leader, today announced a collaboration with Arm to enable secure control, management, and platform adaptability for AI infrastructure. Combining Arm® AGI CPU server platforms with Lattice FPGAs and AMI firmware creates a solution that provides advanced security, manageability, connectivity, and flexibility for next-generation AI data center infrastructure. In Arm AGI CPU server platforms, Lattice FPGAs work alongside the CPU and baseboard management controller, with AMI firmware providing platform boot and management capabilities. The Lattice FPGAs act as companion chips providing secure control and management capabilities, enabling platform trust, connectivity, and infrastructure adaptability. Lattice FPGA technology also enables Open Compute Project (OCP)-compliant connectivity between the Host Processor Module (HPM) and Datacenter Secure Control Module (DC-SCM) through the LVDS Tunneling Protocol
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