CUNY-affiliated neurotechnology company wins Innovation Prize 2016
PathMaker Neurosystems ("PathMaker"), a clinical-stage neurotechnology company developing non-invasive neurotherapy systems to treat neuromotor disorders, has been named as the Recipient of the Universal Biotech Innovation Prize 2016 in the global competition that offers "a glimpse of the future of life sciences." The Innovation Prize awards were announced following presentations during Innovation Days, an international event gathering leading companies and researchers in the Life Sciences field, held October 3-4, 2016, at the Maison de la Chimie in Paris, France.
The international competition, started in 2009 by Universal Biotech and now in its eighth year, honors the world's most innovative startups and the best academic research groups that are "developing cutting-edge technologies in the field of life sciences." Of the 259 entrants from 38 countries this year, PathMaker was selected after four evaluation rounds as Innovation Prize 2016 Laureate, with awards given out in both the MedTech and Biotech categories. Companies were analyzed according to the scientific quality of the innovation, intellectual property, quality of their human resources, project feasibility, and market access strategy. The entrants included applications from the Biotech, Medtech, e-health and diagnostics segments of the life sciences field. The jury included leading and prominent experts from major healthcare companies, pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology societies, and legal firms with extensive experience reviewing novel technologies.
"At PathMaker, we are tremendously honored and excited to have been awarded the Innovation Prize 2016," said Nader Yaghoubi, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of PathMaker. "This prestigious prize reflects not only the rapid progress our expert team has made in translating fundamental discoveries into novel therapeutic devices but the human impact our non-invasive technology will have for patients with paralysis, muscle weakness and spasticity. As the leading company developing non-invasive neuromodulation products for the treatment of neuromotor conditions, we are seeing major interest in our technology from leading clinical institutions and other groups."
To treat these conditions, PathMaker has exclusively licensed intellectual property from the City University of New York developed by neuroscientist Zaghloul Ahmed, PhD, Professor and Chairman, Department of Physical Therapy, College of Staten Island and Professor of Neuroscience, Center for Developmental Neuroscience and CUNY Graduate Center. As PathMaker's scientific founder, Dr. Ahmed commented, "We are very pleased to see the international recognition that our groundbreaking technology and world-class team at PathMaker is getting. We are working to bring the novel treatments enabled by our technology to patients as rapidly as possible."
PathMaker is developing breakthrough non-invasive systems that treat patients suffering from neural pathway disruptions such as stroke, cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, traumatic brain injury and spinal cord injury. PathMaker's first product, MyoRegulator™, provides an innovative treatment for muscle spasticity and is now in IRB-approved human clinical trials. This intervention suppresses the hyper-excitable spinal circuits that characterize spasticity, normalizing function in previously untreatable muscles. The company's second product, MyoAmplifier™, provides an advanced non-invasive platform that treats paralysis and muscle weakness.
Provided by The City University of New York