ONWARD Medical Attracts €50 Million in Capital

ONWARD Medical N.V. has raised €50 million in gross proceeds by selling 10 million new shares to Ottobock SE & Co. KGaA. The money will financially support the company for at least two years. 
 
“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,” ONWARD Medical CEO Dave Marver said. “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.”
 
Specifically, ONWARD Medical will use the share sale money to:

• Fund research and development activities, including continued product development, clinical studies and regulatory activities for the investigational ARC-EX System to restore hand and arm function, the investigational ARC-IM System for improved blood pressure regulation after SCI and other exploratory indications, and the investigational ARC-BCI System to restore thought-driven movement of the human body after a spinal cord injury (SCI) (40%);
• Support the expected U.S. commercial launch of the ARC-EX System later this year, including hiring a field sales organization and conducting selling activities, producing training and education materials and conducting training events, attending congresses, developing customer support capabilities and conducting customer support activities, and conducting market access and reimbursement activities (30%);
• Build quality, operations, and administrative capabilities (20%);
• Fund working capital requirements and potential strategic opportunities aimed at establishing, maintaining, or strengthening competitive advantage through license arrangements, acquisitions whether by assets or shares, or other arrangements (partnering or otherwise) (5%); and
• Cover financing costs associated with existing obligations under current and anticipated debt funding (5%).

“We are delighted with the successful transaction that has made Ottobock the cornerstone investor in ONWARD Medical,” Ottobock Board Chairman Professor Hans Georg Näder stated. “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.” 
 
The new shares are expected to be listed and admitted to trading on Euronext Brussels, Euronext Amsterdam, and Euronext Paris on Oct. 28, and payment and delivery of the new shares will take place the same day. After the private placement closes, Ottobock will hold about 10% of ONWARD Medical’s share capital. The pricing was determined by the company’s Pricing Committee.
 
ONWARD Medical creates 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 10 Breakthrough Device Designations from the U.S. 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. ONWARD Medical has submitted its regulatory application to the FDA for clearance of the ARC-EX System 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 thought-driven movement of both upper and lower limbs after SCI. Headquartered in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, ONWARD Medical has a Science and Engineering Center in Lausanne, Switzerland, and a U.S. office in Boston. The company is listed on Euronext Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.
 
For more than 100 years, Ottobock has been developing innovative fitting solutions for people with reduced mobility. Ottobock promotes freedom of movement, quality of life, and independence that is supported by more than 9,000 employees. With power, technical solutions, and services in prosthetics, orthotics, neuromobility, and patient care, the company enables people in 135 countries to live their lives the way they want. As a market leader in wearable human bionics, the company founded in 1919 is constantly setting new standards and pushing ahead with digitalization—together with its partners, the medical supply companies and international research institutions. Since 2018, Ottobock has been transferring its expertise in biomechanics to exoskeletons for ergonomic workplaces. The international activities of the company are coordinated from the head office in Duderstadt (state of Lower Saxony). Ottobock has been supporting the Paralympic Games with its technical expertise since 1988.