ReWalk Announces Collaboration with Harvard University’s Wyss Institute to Develop Lightweight and Soft Exoskeleton Systems for the Treatment of Stroke, Multiple Sclerosis and Limited Mobility Patients

ReWalk Announces Collaboration with Harvard University’s Wyss Institute to Develop Lightweight and Soft Exoskeleton Systems for the Treatment of Stroke, Multiple Sclerosis and Limited Mobility Patients

YOKNEAM ILIT, Israel and MARLBOROUGH, MA — ReWalk Robotics Ltd. (Nasdaq: RWLK) (“ReWalk” or “Company”), the leading global exoskeleton developer and manufacturer today announced a collaboration with Harvard University’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering for the licensing of Intellectual Property (IP), and development of concepts and designs of lightweight exoskeleton system technologies for lower limb disabilities. This exclusive licensing and collaboration agreement will focus on the development of “soft suit” systems for the treatment of stroke, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), mobility limitations for the elderly and other medical applications.

“There is a great need in the health care system for lightweight, lower-cost wearable exoskeleton designs to support stroke patients, individuals diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and senior citizens who require mechanical mobility assistance. This collaboration will help create the next generation of exoskeleton systems, making life-changing technology available to millions of consumers across a host of patient populations,” said Larry Jasinski, CEO of ReWalk.

“This is a very exciting day for the soft suit technology,” said Conor Walsh, who is a Core Faculty Member at the Wyss Institute, the John L. Loeb Associate Professor of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard’s John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences and Founder of the Harvard Biodesign Lab. “ReWalk brings commercialization expertise and experience in the area of wearable robotics and complements our translation-focused research. Ultimately this deal paves the way for this technology to make its way to patients.”

The majority of Stroke and MS patients as well as the elderly do not require the structural support of current market rigid exoskeleton systems for individuals with spinal cord injury. The soft suit prototypes from the Wyss Institute transmit power to key joints of the legs with cable technologies powered with software and mechanics that are similar to the technologies used in the ReWalk system. The cables are connected to fabric-based designs that attach to the legs and foot, thus lending the name “soft suit.”

“Our collaboration with ReWalk is a wonderful example of the Wyss Institute model in action,” said Wyss Institute Founding Director Don Ingber, M.D., Ph.D. “We work with industry to help de-risk the technologies we develop, both technically and commercially, and thereby expedite their translation into real world applications.”

Initial pilot studies with stroke patients run at Harvard’s Wyss Institute in collaboration with faculty and researchers from Boston University have demonstrated the function of the soft suit exoskeleton technology.  ReWalk will work in concert with the Wyss Institute on the continued development of lightweight designs to complete clinical studies, pursue regulatory approvals and commercialize the systems on a global scale. The first commercial application is expected to be stroke, followed by MS and then additional applications.  There are an estimated 3 million stroke patients with lower limb disability in the U.S., and approximately 400,000 individuals with Multiple Sclerosis.

“Harvard and its Wyss Institute are pioneers in the development of technology in this space. The licensed Harvard patent portfolio currently includes 19 patent applications, which includes applications in at least six countries. The applications cover the soft suit, control systems and methods of treating patients. Harvard and the Wyss Institute have built comprehensive research expertise in addition to the worldwide patent portfolio. There is no better partner than these renowned institutions with which to pursue the mission of bringing cutting-edge technology to disabled individuals around the world,” Jasinski added.

Coordinated by Harvard’s Office of Technology Development, this collaboration includes funding for continued research and technology development at the Wyss Institute and transfer of knowledge and research results to ReWalk.

The agreement is effective May 16, 2016, with anticipated commercialization before 2019.