EPFL spin-off ONWARD raises $ 32 million for its spinal cord therapies

ONWARD has raised $ 32 million to further develop and commercialize its ARC therapy stimulating the spinal cord to restore movement.

Driven by a mission to restore movement, independence, and health in people with spinal cord injury, EPFL spin-off ONWARD developed the ARC Therapy.

The ARC therapy can be delivered by an implantable system called ARC-IM and an external system called ARC-EX. Both platforms are designed to deliver targeted, programmed stimulation of the spinal cord to restore movement, independence, and health in people with spinal cord injury.

ARC-IM and ARC-EX have each been awarded Breakthrough Device Designation by the FDA. ARC-EX is currently undergoing clinical trials in the U.S., Canada, UK, and Western Europe in a pivotal study called Up-LIFT.

To accelerate development and commercialize the two technology platforms, ONWARD has raised $ 32 million in a financing round led by Invest-NL, the Dutch impact investor and Olympic Investments, the private investment arm of the Onassis Foundation.

Several additional new investors including Verve Ventures and all of ONWARD’s existing investors also participated in the financing, including leading medical technology investors LSP, INKEF Capital, Gimv, and Wellington Partners. 

Founded in 2014 with headquarters in the Netherlands and the EPFL Innovation Park in Lausanne (canton of Vaud), ONWARD Medical (formerly known as GTX Medical) also has a growing U.S. presence in Boston.