ONWARD® Launches Partnership with Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Business to Access U.S. Federal Health Market

Eindhoven, Sept. 13, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ONWARD Medical N.V. (Euronext: ONWD), the medical technology company creating innovative therapies to restore movement, function, and independence in people with spinal cord injury (SCI), announces a partnership with Lovell Government Services (Lovell), a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB). Lovell is a government vendor and third-party logistics provider partnering with more than one hundred US healthcare providers.

The two-year distribution agreement provides ONWARD access to the United States Veterans Health Administration, the world’s largest healthcare system providing spinal cord injury care, and the US Department of Defense Military Health System, the world's largest military healthcare provider. Under the agreement, Lovell will add ONWARD therapies to its relevant federal contracts once those technologies are authorized by the US Food and Drug Administration for sale in the United States. The addition of ONWARD therapies to Lovell’s federal contracts is expected to provide the Company with rapid access to the Federal Supply Schedule (FSS), General Services Administration (GSA), Distribution and Pricing Agreement (DAPA), and Electronic Catalog Contract (ECAT).

The ONWARD field sales team will conduct all sales and training activities, while Lovell will serve as the exclusive federal vendor and procurement partner for the Company. The parties have also signed a separate agreement for Lovell to serve as the third-party logistics partner for ONWARD federal and commercial sales in the United States. 

“Our newly forged relationship with Lovell allows us to provide Veterans with rapid access to our breakthrough therapies once they are cleared for commercial sale by the FDA,” said Dave Marver, CEO of ONWARD. “We are also delighted to partner with a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business that is both highly capable and strongly aligned with our mission.”

“This partnership with ONWARD is a meaningful step forward in our mission to support and serve Veterans and individuals living with injuries," said Chris Lovell, CEO, Lovell Government Services. “By collaborating with ONWARD, we are not only able to enhance our portfolio and provide access to cutting-edge medical technology, but we are also contributing to the well-being and independence of those who have served our country."

Nearly 45,000 US military Veterans have a spinal cord injury.

All ONWARD devices and therapies, including but not limited to ARC-IM™, ARC-EX™, and ARC Therapy™, are investigational and not available for commercial use.

About ONWARD Medical

ONWARD is a medical technology company creating therapies to restore movement, function, and independence in people with spinal cord injury (SCI) and movement disabilities. Building on more than a decade of science and preclinical research conducted at leading neuroscience laboratories, the Company has received nine Breakthrough Device Designations from the US Food and Drug Administration for its ARC Therapy™ platform.

ONWARD^® ARC Therapy, which can be delivered by external ARC-EX™ or implantable ARC-IM™ systems, is designed to deliver targeted, programmed spinal cord stimulation. Positive results were presented in 2023 from the Company’s pivotal study, called Up-LIFT, evaluating the ability for transcutaneous ARC Therapy to improve upper extremity strength and function. The Company is now preparing regulatory approval submissions for ARC-EX for the US and Europe. In parallel, the Company is conducting studies with its implantable ARC-IM platform, which demonstrated positive interim clinical outcomes for improved blood pressure regulation following SCI. Other ongoing studies include combination use of ARC-IM with a brain-computer interface (BCI).

Headquartered in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, ONWARD has a Science and Engineering Center in Lausanne, Switzerland and a US office in Boston, Massachusetts. The Company also has an academic partnership with .NeuroRestore, a collaboration between the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) and Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV).

For more information, visit , and connect with us on and .

For Media Enquiries:

Aditi Roy, VP Communications

For Investor Enquiries:

Lara Smith Weber, CFO

Disclaimer

Certain statements, beliefs, and opinions in this press release are forward-looking, which reflect the Company’s or, as appropriate, the Company directors’ current expectations and projections about future events. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve several risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties, and assumptions could adversely affect the outcome and financial effects of the plans and events described herein. A multitude of factors including, but not limited to, changes in demand, competition, and technology, can cause actual events, performance, or results to differ significantly from any anticipated development. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release regarding past trends or activities should not be taken as a representation that such trends or activities will continue in the future. As a result, the Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release any update or revisions to any forward-looking statements in this press release as a result of any change in expectations or any change in events, conditions, assumptions, or circumstances on which these forward-looking statements are based. Neither the Company nor its advisers or representatives nor any of its subsidiary undertakings or any such person’s officers or employees guarantees that the assumptions underlying such forward-looking statements are free from errors nor does either accept any responsibility for the future accuracy of the forward-looking statements contained in this press release or the actual occurrence of the forecasted developments. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. All ONWARD devices and therapies referenced here, including but not limited to ARC-IM, ARC-EX, and ARC Therapy, are investigational and not available for commercial use.