Business Wire

ONWARD Announces First Patient Enrolled in the Up-LIFT Pivotal Trial Assessing Safety and Effectiveness of ARC Therapy for Spinal Cord Injury

12.1.2021 16:30:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release

Share

ONWARD, formerly known as GTX Medical, today announced the first patient has been enrolled in a pivotal trial evaluating the Company’s ARC TherapyTM. The pivotal trial, known as Up-LIFT, will evaluate the safety and effectiveness of ARC Therapy in restoring hand and arm function in people with spinal cord injury (SCI). Up-LIFT is the first large-scale pivotal trial of non-invasive spinal cord stimulation technology. The first patient was enrolled at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta, GA, USA.

“For individuals with impaired arm and hand function due to spinal cord injury, improved hand function directly translates into meaningful gains in terms of quality of life - being able to eat, dress or perform other day-to-day activities,” said Edelle Field-Fote, PT, PhD, FAPTA, FASIA, co-PI of the Up-LIFT trial and Director of Spinal Cord Injury Research and Professor of Rehabilitation Medicine at Emory University School of Medicine.

“The start of this trial marks a significant milestone in bringing non-invasive stimulation to people living with spinal cord injury, whose top priority is restoring hand and arm function,” said Chet Moritz, PhD, co-PI of the Up-LIFT trial and Associate Professor in the Departments of Electrical & Computer Engineering and Rehabilitation Medicine at the University of Washington in Seattle. ONWARD plans to enroll 65 subjects at up to 15 sites in the United States, Canada, UK, and Europe.

A study recently published by Chet Moritz and researchers at the University of Washington in Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering, a journal of the IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional organization for the advancement of technology, demonstrated ONWARD’s transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation leads to both rapid and sustained recovery of hand and arm function for people with both motor complete and incomplete cervical SCI. These findings further support the potential for non-invasive spinal cord stimulation technology in restoring hand and arm function in this population.

“The initiation of the Up-LIFT trial is an important first step toward delivering meaningful solutions to people living with the effects of spinal cord injury,” said Dave Marver, Chief Executive Officer of ONWARD. “We are deeply committed to our vision to use breakthrough science and pioneering technology to help the spinal cord injury community.”

An arc occurs when an electrical impulse bridges the gap between two conductors. ARC Therapy is designed to re-establish severed connections between spared neural networks and the brain by means of specific, targeted spinal cord stimulation.

To learn more about ONWARD’s ARC therapy technology and mission to restore movement, independence and health in people with spinal cord injury, please visit the newly launched ONWD.com.

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.

To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.

Contact information

For general inquiries, please contact:
info@onwd.com

For media inquiries, please contact:
Laura Vinci, Finn Partners
laura.vinci@finnpartners.com
+14024998203

About Business Wire

For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.

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

Sharjah Unveils Uruk: A New Generation of Sustainable Cities Built for the Post-AI Era29.10.2026 20:15:00 EET | Press release

In the presence of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, and Her Highness Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, President of American University of Sharjah and Chairperson of Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park, a pioneering model for a new generation of cities designed for the post-AI era called “Uruk.” This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261029129346/en/ H.H. Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah, during the inauguration of “Uruk” (Photo: AETOSWire) The project was revealed at the opening of the second edition of Sharjah Next, through a strategic partnership between Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park (SPARK), American University of Sharjah (AUS) and SEE Holding, bringing together their capabilities in innovation, scientific research and sustainable urban development. Uruk introduces a new vision for urba

Motive and Vivo Brazil Win 2026 Leading Lights Award for Network API Monetization29.10.2026 18:35:00 EET | Press release

Motive, a global leader in entitlement, connected device and service management and Vivo Brazil, Brazil’s largest operator and part of the Telefónica Group, have won the 2026 Light Reading Leading Lights Award for Outstanding Use Case: Network API Monetization for the first commercial scale deployment of SIM-based silent authentication in Latin America. SMS OTP remains relevant as an authentication method due to its broad reach, working on virtually any type of mobile device. SIM-based silent authentication takes this experience a step further by eliminating the need to receive and manually enter codes. The result is a simpler, more seamless user journey that reduces friction and can help lower abandonment rates while increasing customer conversion and retention. Using Motive’s CAMARA-compliant Entitlement Server, Vivo can now verify a subscriber’s phone number directly without requiring a passcode over mobile networks. The business value is straightforward: a simpler authentication ex

REV Ocean Appoints Paul Baribault as CEO Ahead of 2027 Global Operations29.10.2026 16:45:00 EET | Press release

REV Ocean has appointed Paul Baribault as Chief Executive Officer as the organization moves towards the international debut of its 195-metre research vessel in Rio de Janeiro in April 2027, alongside the UN Ocean Decade Conference. One of the world's largest privately owned research and exploration vessels, REV represents a major philanthropic investment in ocean science. With nine laboratories, advanced deep-sea exploration vehicles and dedicated collaboration facilities, it is designed to give scientists access to world-class research infrastructure and connect their discoveries with the people and institutions able to drive ocean protection. Baribault joins as REV Ocean moves from a decade of engineering and construction into international operations. His mandate will be to build the international partnerships, funding base and organization needed to turn REV Ocean’s scientific capabilities into lasting ocean impact. An experienced conservation and nonprofit leader, Baribault served

Holder Partners Launches Strategic Communications Practice and Appoints Ali Ponte as Director and Practice Lead29.10.2026 16:15:00 EET | Press release

Holder Partners, a multidisciplinary consulting and advisory firm, today announced the launch of its Strategic Communications practice and the appointment of Ali Ponte as Director and Practice Lead. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261027701219/en/ Ali Ponte, Director and Practice Lead of Holder Partners’ Strategic Communications practice. The practice advises leading companies and institutions, their boards, senior executives and counsel on communications, reputation and stakeholder considerations in complex matters and periods of significant change or opportunity. Each engagement is tailored to the client’s objectives and, where relevant, draws on Holder Partners’ broader advisory capabilities. Its strategic counsel, informed by research and analysis, helps clients assess the implications of a matter, anticipate stakeholder responses and communicate clearly and effectively. That work includes crisis preparedn

Accertify Formalizes Partner Ecosystem as Fraud, Payments, and Chargebacks Converge Into a Single Risk Surface29.10.2026 16:00:00 EET | Press release

Accertify, a leading fraud decisioning provider whose Predictive Yes Platform helps merchants say yes to more good customers, more revenue, and more growth, today announced the launch of the Accertify Partner Program, a formalized partnership ecosystem connecting payment providers, orchestrators, commerce platforms, and consultancies to Accertify’s network-powered fraud intelligence. Partners can join through two tracks. The Referral track lets partners make a single introduction while Accertify handles the sale, implementation, and support. The Reseller track lets partners sell Accertify on their own contract and own the client relationship and margin. Partners that integrate with Accertify follow a defined certification path, so clients get a tested, supported connection from day one. Every client a partner brings joins a consortium where good customers verified anywhere in the network get through faster everywhere, and bad actors seen anywhere are stopped everywhere. In 2025, Accert

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
World GlobeA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.HiddenA line styled icon from Orion Icon Library.Eye