Eindhoven, NL and Lausanne, CH; Los Angeles, USA; October 22, 2019 – GTX medical BV (‘GTX’, formerly known as G-Therapeutics) and NeuroRecovery Technologies Inc. (‘NRT’) today announced their merger to create a leading global company committed to developing novel neuromodulation therapies to improve functional recovery of people with Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI). The merged entity will be known as GTX medical BV. The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, the premier North American nonprofit organization dedicated to curing spinal cord injury by advancing innovative research and improving quality of life for people living with paralysis, will be a shareholder in the merged company, alongside current investors including LSP, Inkef, Wellington Partners and GIMV. Ian Curtis, board member of the Reeve Foundation will join the Board of Directors.
The merged company is developing Targeted Epidural Spine Stimulation (TESS), an implantable spinal cord stimulation system with real-time motion feedback. This system is in late-stage development and has already been shown to restore locomotion in a select number of patients with spinal cord injury. A second, non-invasive product offering - Transcutaneous Spinal Cord Stimulation (tSCS) – is being developed to restore upper limb movement and hand function.
The companies will combine their collective scientific and technical expertise, and will continue to collaborate with world-class physicians and clinical scientists to develop other complimentary applications for their technologies to further improve functional recovery and alleviate neurological impairments.
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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. Our combined organization is dedicated and committed to improving the well-being of these individuals,” said Sjaak Deckers, CEO of GTX.
“Neurostimulation represents the single biggest breakthrough ever in creating dramatic functional recovery in patients living with SCI. With the support of the Reeve Foundation, the first worldwide organization in SCI history will be established,” commented Jay Shepard, Board Member of NRT.
Peter Wilderotter, President and CEO of the Reeve Foundation, commented: “The Reeve Foundation has invested tens of millions of dollars in basic research to get us to this point. 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.”
In parallel with this merger, GTX has renewed license agreements with the University of California in Los Angeles (‘UCLA’), the California Institute of Technology (‘Caltech’) and the University of Louisville (‘UofL’), complementing existing license agreements with the École Poly-technique Fédérale de Lausanne (‘EPFL’), and strengthening the company’s intellectual property portfolio. GTX will continue to collaborate with the labs of Professor Courtine at EPFL, and will seek to build additional collaborations with several pioneering academic collaborators in the US and EU.
About GTX medical
GTX medical BV is a MedTech company focused on the development and commercialization of innovative therapies to accelerate and augment functional recovery of people with spinal cord injury and to improve their quality of life. GTX’ proprietary technologies have the potential to restore the function of the spinal cord and to improve functional recovery of individuals after a spinal cord injury. For additional information about GTX medical BV, please visit gtxmedical.com
About the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation
The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation is dedicated to curing spinal cord injury by funding innovative research and improving the quality of life for people living with paralysis through grants, information and advocacy. We meet all 20 of the Better Business Bureau’s standards for charity accountability and hold the BBB’s Charity Seal. For more information, please visit our website at ChristopherReeve.org
About LSP
LSP (Life Sciences Partners) is an independent European investment firm, providing financing for private and public life sciences companies. LSP’s mission is to connect investors to inventors, focusing on unmet medical needs. Since the late 1980s, LSP’s management has invested in about 100 innovative enterprises, many of which have grown to become leaders in the global life sciences industry. With over €2.0 billion ($2.3bn) of investment capital raised to date and offices in Amsterdam, Munich and Boston, LSP is one of Europe’s leading life sciences investors. LSP also invests in public companies through its Euronext-listed LSP Life Sciences Fund (Bloomberg: LSP NA). lspvc.com
Dr. John de Koning, Partner LSP
+31 20 664 5500
wqrxbavat@yfcip.pbz