Through a private placement Ottobock is investing 22.5 million euros in Onward Medical, a European medical technology company creating innovative therapies to restore movement, function, and independence in people with spinal cord injury (SCI). The investment made today, which will close on Monday, 28th October 2024, will make Ottobock the largest shareholder of Onward, and marks the beginning of a closer partnership.

“As the innovation leader in our industry, we see great potential in Onward Medical’s 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 in realizing their potential,” says Professor Hans Georg Näder, Chairman of the Board and owner of Ottobock SE & Co. KGaA, describing the latest investment.

“We are delighted to have successfully completed this equity transaction, which will support Onward’s expected commercialization of the ARC-EX System and other important development, clinical, and commercial activities for the next two years and beyond. 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 with Ottobock to enhance and accelerate our ability to develop and commercialize our breakthrough therapies worldwide.”

Onward expects to launch its first product, the ARC-EX System, in the coming months in the US market. According to clinical studies, the non-invasive neuromodulation device helped 90% of the participants improve their strength or function in the upper limbs. In the future, Onward’s pipeline includes a NeuroImplant and a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI).

“The demand for devices for neurological indications like Spinal Cord Injury is great and continues to grow. Ottobock’s and Onward’s ways of developing solutions for these patients is complementary. Ottobock is establishing innovative NeuroOrthotic solutions for SCI patients, e.g. with our computer-controlled C-Brace leg orthosis. Onward is establishing solutions based on their ARC platform, e.g. with ARC-IM NeuroImplant in combination with a brain-computer-interface (BCI). With our investment in Onward Medical, we are supporting their visionary and technically sophisticated solutions in order to meet the demand for SCI products and therapies,” says Oliver Jakobi, CEO of Ottobock.

Beyond the equity investment, Ottobock and Onward aim to further agree on specific collaboration and development activities between the companies to leverage complementary products and services and explore further possibilities for joint innovation in the areas of NeuroTech, NeuroOrthotics and Exoskeletons.