Medical technology company ONWARD Medical N.V. (Euronext Brussels/Amsterdam:ONWD) said on Tuesday that it has received grants from The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research and the US Department of Defense to support clinical feasibility studies using its investigational ONWARD ARC-IM System.

These studies aim to evaluate the system's potential to address mobility challenges and blood pressure instability in Parkinson's disease.

A USD1m grant from The Michael J. Fox Foundation will fund a study led by researchers Jocelyne Bloch, MD, and Grégoire Courtine, PhD, at NeuroRestore. The trial, which began in late 2024, will enrol six participants to assess the system's impact on walking and balance impairments.

Motor dysfunction affects over 90% of Parkinson's patients, with approximately 60% experiencing annual falls. Current treatments often fail to adequately address mobility issues, underscoring the need for more effective therapies. The study builds on research published in Nature Medicine in November 2023, which demonstrated improvements in mobility, balance and freezing-of-gait using ARC-IM Therapy.

The US Department of Defense has awarded approximately USD1.5m to ONWARD Medical and NeuroRestore for a separate feasibility study on blood pressure instability in Parkinson's. This trial, expected to begin in the first half of 2025, will enrol five participants.

With about 800,000 people in the US and Europe affected by Parkinson's-related blood pressure instability, this study expands ONWARD Medical's ongoing research. The company previously secured funding from the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to develop the ARC-IM System for spinal cord injury.