MARLBOROUGH, Mass.,
May 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Four
years after entering into a collaboration with researchers at
Harvard University to develop wearable
exosuits for patients with limited mobility, ReWalk Robotics Ltd.
(Nasdaq: RWLK)("ReWalk," "we" or the "Company") today announced a
revision to the sponsored research agreement with Harvard to extend the term of the collaboration.
Continuing the ongoing project until March
2023, the research team will investigate how their novel
designs for wearable exosuits may incorporate features that support
the increasing demand for tele-healthcare, including remote data
provision, analysis and remote physical therapy for patients with
their therapists.
Since 2016, ReWalk has funded a collaborative research project
at the Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering at
Harvard University ("Wyss Institute").
The research is led by Conor Walsh,
Ph.D., in his Harvard Biodesign Lab, a robotics research
laboratory. Walsh is the Paul A. Maeder Professor of Engineering
and Applied Sciences at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of
Engineering and Applied Sciences and a Core Faculty Member at the
Wyss Institute.
"We are pleased to extend our collaboration with Conor Walsh and his team," said Larry Jasinski, ReWalk CEO. "We have seen that
the U.S. healthcare system is quickly evolving to utilize
telehealth capabilities to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. With
our collaborators, we are eager to see how telehealth technology
may be incorporated into next-generation exosuits. Such designs may
better meet the need for home-based management and rehabilitation
therapy for a mobility-challenged patient population."
The Harvard Biodesign Lab brings together researchers from the
engineering, industrial design, apparel, biomechanics, physical
therapy, and business communities to develop and translate soft
wearable robotic technologies for medical and industrial
applications. "My lab is motivated to advance innovations that
address real clinical challenges, in collaboration with clinicians
and industry partners, and in response to patients' evolving
needs," said Harvard's Walsh. "It's
clear that there is a need for remote home care with feedback and
monitoring capability for clinicians. My research team is
interested to see how we can optimize our technologies to meet that
need as our collaboration with ReWalk continues."
The Harvard Biodesign Lab's foundational work on wearable
robotics, and the lab's research collaboration with ReWalk, have
already resulted in innovations to benefit patients. Arising
technologies licensed by ReWalk enabled the development of the
company's ReStore system, which received FDA clearance in 2019 for
use by stroke survivors in the rehabilitative setting.
Telehealth is an area of increasing focus for ReWalk. The
decision by the Centers for Medicare
& Medicaid Services ("CMS") in March of this
year to temporarily add physical and occupational therapy to the
list of services that can be provided via telehealth provides a
fundamental component to expand telehealth for a large number of
patients nationwide. While these changes are in response to the
COVID-19 pandemic and are currently scoped to expire in
June 2020, the company recognizes
that this telehealth expansion may be extended if the crisis
continues and provides an opportunity for the healthcare system to
evaluate how telehealth can affect patient care and healthcare
economics.
Under the revised agreement, effective April 30, 2020, ReWalk's initial funding
commitment to this research collaboration will now be spread out
over an additional nine months.
About ReWalk Robotics Ltd.
ReWalk Robotics Ltd. develops, manufactures and markets
wearable robotic exoskeletons for individuals with lower limb
disabilities as a result of spinal cord injury or stroke. ReWalk's
mission is to fundamentally change the quality of life for
individuals with lower limb disability through the creation and
development of market leading robotic technologies. Founded in
2001, ReWalk has headquarters in the United
States, Israel and Germany. For more information on
the ReWalk systems, please visit www.rewalk.com.
ReWalk® is a registered trademark of ReWalk Robotics
Ltd. in Israel and the United States.
ReStore® is a registered trademark of ReWalk Robotics
Ltd. in Europe and an allowed trademark
in the United States.
Forward-Looking Statements
In addition to historical information, this press release
contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of
the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995, Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, and
Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
Such forward-looking statements may include projections regarding
ReWalk's future performance and other statements that are not
statements of historical fact and, in some cases, may be identified
by words like "anticipate," "assume," "believe," "continue,"
"could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "plan,"
"potential," "predict," "project," "future," "will," "should,"
"would," "seek" and similar terms or phrases. The forward-looking
statements contained in this press release are based on
management's current expectations, which are subject to
uncertainty, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult
to predict and many of which are outside of ReWalk's control.
Important factors that could cause ReWalk's actual results to
differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking
statements include, among others: ReWalk's management's conclusion,
and its independent registered public accounting firm's statement
in its opinion relating to its consolidated financial statements
for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, that there is a
substantial doubt as to the Company's ability to continue as a
going concern; the current COVID-19 pandemic has adversely affected
and may continue to affect adversely business and results of
operations; ReWalk's ability to have sufficient funds to meet
certain future capital requirements, which could impair the
Company's efforts to develop and commercialize existing and new
products; ReWalk's ability to maintain compliance with the
continued listing requirements of the Nasdaq Capital Market and the
risk that its ordinary shares will be delisted if it cannot do so;
ReWalk's ability to establish a pathway to commercialize its
products in China; ReWalk's ability to maintain and grow its
reputation and the market acceptance of its products; ReWalk's
ability to achieve reimbursement from third-party payors for its
products; ReWalk's limited operating history and its ability to
leverage its sales, marketing and training infrastructure; ReWalk's
expectations as to its clinical research program and clinical
results; ReWalk's expectations regarding future growth, including
its ability to increase sales in its existing geographic markets
and expand to new markets; ReWalk's ability to obtain certain
components of its products from third-party suppliers and its
continued access to its product manufacturers; ReWalk's ability to
repay its secured indebtedness; ReWalk's ability to improve its
products and develop new products; the outcome of ongoing
shareholder class action litigation relating to its initial public
offering; ReWalk's compliance with medical device reporting
regulations to report adverse events involving the Company's
products, which could result in voluntary corrective actions or
enforcement actions such as mandatory recalls, and the potential
impact of such adverse events on ReWalk's ability to market and
sell its products; ReWalk's ability to gain and maintain regulatory
approvals; ReWalk's expectations as to the results of, and
the Food and Drug Administration's potential regulatory
developments with respect to its mandatory 522 postmarket
surveillance study; ReWalk's ability to maintain adequate
protection of its intellectual property and to avoid violation of
the intellectual property rights of others; the risk of a
cybersecurity attack or breach of the Company's IT systems
significantly disrupting its business operations; the impact of
substantial sales of the Company's shares by certain shareholders
on the market price of the Company's ordinary shares; ReWalk's
ability to use effectively the proceeds of its offerings of
securities; the risk of substantial dilution resulting from the
periodic issuances of ReWalk's ordinary shares; the impact of the
market price of the Company's ordinary shares on the determination
of whether it is a passive foreign investment company; and other
factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in ReWalk's
annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2019 filed with the SEC and other documents
subsequently filed with or furnished to the SEC. Any
forward-looking statement made in this press release speaks only as
of the date hereof. Factors or events that could cause ReWalk's
actual results to differ from the statements contained herein may
emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for ReWalk to
predict all of them. Except as required by law, ReWalk undertakes
no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future developments or
otherwise.
SOURCE ReWalk Robotics Ltd.