ONWARD Medical Appoints Fouad Azzam to Board of Directors

ONWARD Medical, a neurotechnology company pioneering therapies to restore movement, function, and independence in people with spinal cord injuries and other movement disabilities, has announced the appointment of Fouad Azzam to its Board of Directors.

Fouad Azzam, a Partner in the EQT Life Sciences team, brings extensive experience in supporting the growth of medical device companies. His appointment is seen as a strategic move to help ONWARD Medical scale its business and advance its mission.

ONWARD Medical has been at the forefront of spinal cord stimulation therapies. The company's ARC Therapy has been awarded 10 Breakthrough Device Designations from the FDA, highlighting the significance of its research and development efforts. The ARC EX® System is currently cleared for commercial sale in the US and Europe, and the company is also developing an investigational implantable system called ARC-IM®, designed to address several unmet needs, including blood pressure instability after spinal cord injury. This system can also be paired with a brain-computer interface (BCI) and artificial intelligence (AI) to restore thought-driven movement.

Fouad Azzam's background is impressive. Before joining EQT, he served as Managing Director of Eastman Ventures and as a Director at Eastman Chemical Company, where he held various roles spanning strategy, new business development, and corporate development. Earlier in his career, he worked in the Research and Business Development group at Occidental Chemical Company. He currently serves on the Boards of Directors for several biotechnology and medical technology companies, including Neuros Medical, Shinobi Therapeutics, HotSpot Therapeutics, and Xycolor Therapeutics. He previously served on the Boards of multiple medical technology companies, including Cardiac Dimensions, Endotronix, and Simplify Medical.

Azzam holds a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the University of Akron and an MBA from the State University of New York at Buffalo. His expertise and experience are expected to be invaluable as ONWARD Medical continues to innovate and expand its offerings.

ONWARD Medical, headquartered in the Netherlands, 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).