ONWARD Medical raises CHF 50 million
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ONWARD Medical N.V.announces that it successfully raised an amount of EUR 50 million led by a cornerstone investment from Ottobock, a German global leader in prosthetics, orthotics, and exoskeleton technology. The investment is extending the company’s cash runway to two years or more, providing ample capital to fuel its transition to a commercial enterprise, and to achieve many planned development, clinical, and operations milestones.
ONWARD Medical, a groundbreaking medtech company
Grégoire Courtine, Phd, Professor of neuroscience and neurotechnolgy at EPFL, and Jocelyne Bloch, MD, Head of the Department of Functional Neurosurgery at the CHUV, are the co-founders of ONWARD Medical. `Headquartered in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, the company has a Science and Engineering Center in Lausanne, Switzerland, a US office in Boston, Massachusetts, and is listed on Euronext Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam (ticker: ONWD).
ONWARD Medical is creating therapies to restore movement, function, and independence in people with spinal cord injury (SCI) and movement disabilities. Building on more than a decade of scientific discovery, preclinical, and clinical research conducted at leading hospitals, rehabilitation clinics, and neuroscience laboratories, the Company has developed ARC Therapy™, which has been awarded ten Breakthrough Device Designations from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
ONWARD ARC Therapy is targeted, programmed spinal cord stimulation designed to be delivered by the Company’s external ARC-EX® or implantable ARC-IM® platforms. ARC Therapy can also be delivered by the Company’s ARC-BCI™ platform, which pairs the ARC-IM System with brain-computer interface (BCI) technology to restore movement after SCI with thought-driven control. Use of non-invasive ARC-EX Therapy significantly improved upper limb function after SCI in the global pivotal Up-LIFT trial, with results published by Nature Medicine in May 2024. The Company has submitted its regulatory application to the FDA for clearance of the ARC-EX System in the US and is preparing for regulatory submission in Europe. In parallel, the Company is conducting clinical studies with its ARC-IM Therapy, which demonstrated positive interim clinical outcomes for improved blood pressure regulation following SCI. Other ongoing clinical studies focus on using ARC-IM Therapy to address mobility after SCI and gait challenges in Parkinson’s disease as well as using the ARC-BCI platform to restore thoughtdriven movement of both upper and lower limbs after SCI.
A strategic Investment
This investment initiates a long-term strategic relationship with Ottobock, which has more than 100 years of experience serving people with movement disabilities. The German company has 9,000 employees worldwide and operations in almost 60 countries.
The EUR 50 million were raised in gross proceeds by way of an upsized bookbuild offering through a private placement with institutional investors of 10 million new ordinary shares (the “Private Placement” and such shares the “New Shares”) via the Joint Bookrunners. The New Shares were offered at an issue price of EUR 5.00 per share.
“We are delighted to complete this successful transaction, which will support the Company’s expected commercialization of the ARC-EX System and other important development, clinical, and commercial activities for two years or more. We are also very pleased to welcome Ottobock as a strategic investor and partner,” said Dave Marver, CEO of ONWARD Medical.
“Now that this financing is complete, we look forward to exploring opportunities to collaborate closely with Ottobock to enhance and accelerate our ability to develop and commercialize our breakthrough therapies worldwide.” “We are delighted with the successful transaction that has made Ottobock the Cornerstone Investor in ONWARD Medical,” said Professor Hans Georg Näder, Chairman of the Board and owner of Ottobock SE & Co. KGaA. “As the innovation leader in our industry, we see great potential in their therapy approaches for people with spinal cord injuries. With more than 100 years of experience in medical technology innovation, our global network and our strong brand, we will support ONWARD Medical in realizing their potential.”
“With the investment into ONWARD we are underlining our ambition to drive breakthrough innovation. Our technological competences are very complementary, and we will make a change to people living with Spinal Cord Injury and other neurological indications. Our investment is a starting point for several collaboration opportunities ahead of us,” said Oliver Jakobi, CEO of Ottobock SE & Co. KGaA.
➡️ Source: Press Release
📸 Jocelyne Bloch, MD, and G. Courtine, PHD, the day ONWARD Medical was floated on the Paris stock exchange (24 September 2024). ©ONWARD Medical. Both also received a BioAlps Academy Award in 2023.