GTX Medical and NeuroRecovery Technologies today announced their merger into a global company for the development of neuromodulation therapies for spinal cord injuries.
The two merging companies plan to develop the targeted epidural spine stimulation system, an implantable spinal cord stimulation platform designed to restore locomotion in patients with spinal cord injury with real-time motion feedback.
There is also a second, non-invasive product in the works, as a transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation system is in development for the restoration of upper limb movement and hand function.
The companies said they are combining their collective scientific and technical capabilities to continue developing other applications for their technologies to improve recovery and alleviate neurological impairments. The new entity will do business under the GTX Medical banner, with the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation as a shareholder with current investors LSP, Inkef, Wellington Partners and GIMV.
“People with spinal cord injuries deserve a dedicated and coordinated effort of scientists, clinicians and entrepreneurs to bring to market new therapies and products to improve functional outcomes and quality of life,” GTX CEO Sjaak Deckers said in prepared remarks. “Our combined organization is dedicated and committed to improving the well-being of these individuals.”
“Neurostimulation represents the single biggest breakthrough ever in creating dramatic functional recovery in patients living with SCI,” added NRT board member Jay Shepard. “With the support of the Reeve Foundation, the first worldwide organization in SCI history will be established.”
“The Reeve Foundation has invested tens of millions of dollars in basic research to get us to this point,” Reeve Foundation president & CEO Peter Wilderotter said. “We believe discoveries are the moral property of people living with paralysis. This strategic alliance between GTX and NRT will bridge the translational gap that exists between academia and industry to speed the development of vital new treatments and therapies. However, beyond a partnership, it is a promise that is long overdue to the millions living with spinal cord injury worldwide.”
