ONWARD Medical to Advance Parkinson’s Disease Pipeline with Support from The Michael J. Fox Foundation and US Department of Defense
04 MAR 2025 07:30 CET
ISSUER
ONWARD MEDICAL
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research is supporting a study addressing mobility challenges in Parkinson’s disease; the first participant was enrolled in late 2024
A US Department of Defense grant will support a study addressing blood pressure instability; first enrollment is expected in 1H 2025
These studies both explore whether the ONWARD ARC-IM System has the potential to offer benefit beyond spinal cord injury
EINDHOVEN, the Netherlands, March 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ONWARD Medical N.V. (Euronext: ONWD), the medical technology company creating innovative spinal cord stimulation therapies to restore movement, function, and independence in people with spinal cord injury (SCI) and other movement disabilities, today announces two new grants to support early clinical feasibility studies using its investigational ONWARD ARC-IM System to explore the technology’s potential to help people with Parkinson's disease.
The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research (MJFF) awarded a $1M grant to researchers Jocelyne Bloch, MD and Grégoire Courtine, PhD of NeuroRestore to support a clinical feasibility study with 6 participants to explore whether the ONWARD ARC-IM System can address mobility challenges in Parkinson’s. The study is underway with the first participant implanted in late 2024.
More than 90% of people living with Parkinson’s experience walking and balance dysfunction, and approximately 60% experience annual falls.1 Motor impairments severely impact quality of life, often leading to loss of independence and increased risk of injury.2 Mobility issues are seldom sufficiently addressed with prevailing treatments, underscoring the urgent need for more effective therapies in Parkinson’s.3
The study will build on findings previously published by Courtine and Bloch in Nature Medicine in November 2023. In that study, ARC-IM Therapy was shown to improve mobility and balance, and reduce freezing-of-gait after Parkinson’s.
US Department of Defense Parkinson’s Research Program Grant
This approximately $1.5M grant was awarded to ONWARD and NeuroRestore. It will support a clinical feasibility study with 5 participants to explore the ability of the ONWARD ARC-IM System to address blood pressure instability in Parkinson’s. The study is expected to commence in the first half of 2025.
Approximately 800,000 people in the US and Europe are challenged by blood pressure issues resulting from Parkinson’s.4 ONWARD previously received a grant from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), part of the US Department of Defense, to support development of its investigational ARC-IM System to address blood pressure instability in spinal cord injury.
“The versatility and promise of the ONWARD ARC-IM System has been validated by grants from these distinguished organizations, supporting research to determine if our technology can be leveraged beyond spinal cord injury,” said Dave Marver, CEO of ONWARD Medical. "There are 10 million people worldwide living with Parkinson's and we are hopeful the ARC-IM System may offer them new and powerful therapeutic options.”
The ARC-IM System is designed to deliver targeted, personalized spinal cord stimulation to restore function and movement after spinal cord injury and other movement disabilities. The System consists of an implantable neurostimulator that generates precise electrical stimulation delivered by a lead placed on the spinal cord. Together, they are designed to deliver ARC Therapy to the area of the spinal cord that is responsible for movement or restoration of autonomic function.