ONWARD Medical Adds Entrepreneur and Neurotechnology Thought Leader Tim Denison, PhD to its Board of Directors

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Denison is Professor of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Oxford and was previously Vice President of Research and Core Technologies at Medtronic. He is a co-founder and Chief Engineer of neurotechnology company Amber Therapeutics.
ONWARD Co-Founder Professor Gregoire Courtine will continue to serve as Science Advisor. He will depart the Board of Directors to address new responsibilities as Director of the Neuro-X Institute and expanded responsibilities at EPFL.

EINDHOVEN, the Netherlands, July 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ONWARD Medical N.V. (Euronext: ONWD and US OTCQX: ONWRY), the leading neurotechnology company pioneering therapies to restore movement, function, and independence in people with spinal cord injury (SCI) and other movement disabilities, today announces changes to its Board of Directors.

Professor Tim Denison has been appointed to the Board of Directors and will assume the Board seat previously held by Professor Gregoire Courtine. Denison holds a Chair in Emerging Technologies by the Royal Academy of Engineering at the University of Oxford, where he is Professor of Engineering Science and Clinical Neurosciences. Denison was formerly Vice President of Research & Core Technology for the Restorative Therapies Group at Medtronic, where he helped oversee the design of next-generation neural interface and algorithm technologies for the treatment of neurological disorders. Denison is deeply familiar with Courtine’s groundbreaking science and was a co-author on several of Courtine’s landmark publications in translational neurotechnology (Nature, 2018, 2021, 2023; Nature Medicine, 2023) focused on mobility, blood pressure instability, and the use of a brain-computer interface after spinal cord injury and Parkinson’s disease.

Denison is a Fellow of both the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering and the Royal Academy of Engineering. He is also Co-Founder and Chief Engineer at Amber Therapeutics, a neurotechnology company pursuing solutions for urinary incontinence. Denison received an AB in Physics from the University of Chicago, and an MS and PhD in Electrical Engineering from MIT. He also completed an MBA as a Wallman Scholar at the University of Chicago.

Catalyzed by his recent appointment as Director of the Neuro-X Institute and in light of his continually expanding responsibilities as Director of NeuroRestore and Professor at EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne), Professor Gregoire Courtine will depart the company’s Board of Directors. He will continue to serve ONWARD as Co-Founder and Science Advisor, as part of the Company’s ongoing engagement with the world’s foremost neuroscience innovators.

The Neuro-X Institute is a multidisciplinary Swiss neuroscience research hub with more than 200 scientific collaborators. It merges neuroscience, neural engineering, and neurocomputation to accelerate the delivery of next-generation therapies for neurological disorders. NeuroRestore is a research, innovation, and treatment center led by Professor Gregoire Courtine and Jocelyne Bloch, MD, Chief of Neurosurgery at Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), where more than 100 experts in neuroscience are developing therapies to augment the recovery of autonomic and motor functions in people with spinal cord injuries, Parkinson’s disease, and stroke.

“We are pleased to welcome Tim Denison to our Board of Directors. His deep expertise in neurotechnology and his unique perspective at the intersection of academia and industry will be invaluable as we advance our innovation pipeline and introduce our breakthrough therapies to the market,” said Dave Marver, CEO of ONWARD Medical. “Professor Courtine’s contributions to ONWARD cannot be overstated, from his founding of the Company with Dr. Jocelyne Bloch to his development of our many breakthrough therapies. I am pleased G’s engagement with our team will remain robust in his capacity as Science Advisor.”

“Professor Courtine’s pioneering vision, commitment to scientific discovery, and passion to help people with spinal cord injury have inspired and will continue to inspire us. While he is stepping away from his formal role on our Board, we are grateful he will continue to help us advance our shared mission to restore movement and function in people with SCI and other movement disabilities,” commented Rob ten Hoedt, Chairman of the Board.

“It has been an extraordinary journey to help build ONWARD from the ground up. I have full confidence that the team will continue delivering breakthrough spinal cord stimulation therapies, transforming the lives of millions around the world. I remain fully committed to supporting ONWARD’s mission and look forward to contributing to its continued success in my role as Science Advisor,” said Professor G. Courtine.

In addition to the appointment of Professor Denison, the Company recently confirmed the following Board appointments and reappointments, approved at its Annual General Meeting of Shareholders in June 2025:

Dave Marver was reappointed as CEO and Executive Director for a period of four years.
Ian Curtis was reappointed as Non-Executive Director for a period of four years.
Announced last year, the temporary appointment of Rob ten Hoedt as Non-Executive Director for a period of four years was formally ratified by the General Meeting. He assumes the role of Chairman of the Board.
Also announced last year, the temporary appointment of Rahma Samow as Non-Executive Director for a period of four years was formally ratified by the General Meeting.

About ONWARD Medical

ONWARD Medical is the leading neurotechnology company pioneering therapies to restore movement, function, and independence in people with spinal cord injury (SCI) and other movement disabilities. Building on more than a decade of scientific discovery, preclinical research, and clinical studies 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 US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The Company’s ARC-EX System is cleared for commercial sale in the US. In addition, the Company is developing an investigational implantable system called ARC-IM with and without an implanted brain-computer interface (BCI).

Headquartered in the Netherlands, the Company has a Science and Engineering Center in Switzerland and a US office in Boston, Massachusetts. The Company is listed on Euronext Paris, Brussels, and Amsterdam (ticker: ONWD) and its US ADRs can be traded on OTCQX (ticker: ONWRY).

To learn more about ONWARD Medical’s commitment to partnering with the spinal cord injury community to develop innovative solutions for restoring movement, function, and independence after spinal cord injury, please visit ONWD.com.

To be kept informed about the Company’s technologies, research studies, and the availability of therapies in your area, please complete this webform.

For Media Inquiries:
Sébastien Cros, VP Communications
media@onwd.com

For Investor Inquiries:
investors@onwd.com

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, delays in regulatory approvals, 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.

Trademarks: ONWARD, ARC-EX, ARC-IM, ARC-BCI, and the stylized O-Logo are proprietary and registered trademarks of ONWARD Medical. Unauthorized use is strictly prohibited.

ARC-EX Indication for Use (US): The ARC-EX System is intended to deliver programmed, transcutaneous electrical spinal cord stimulation in conjunction with functional task practice in the clinic to improve hand sensation and strength in individuals between 18 and 75 years old that present with a chronic, non-progressive neurological deficit resulting from an incomplete spinal cord injury (C2-C8 inclusive).

Other Investigational Products: All other ONWARD Medical devices and therapies including ARC-IM and ARC-BCI are investigational and not available for commercial use.

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