PathMaker Neurosystems Inc. (“PathMaker”), a near-commercial stage neuromodulation company developing breakthrough non-invasive systems for the treatment of serious neurological disorders, announced today that it was awarded a CERF Medical Electronics Prize from the Cullen Education and Research Fund (CERF), a private philanthropy based in London, United Kingdom.
The Prize was created by CERF to support novel therapeutic solutions that can improve the living conditions or represent a cure for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Selection for this award from amongst many international submissions was made by a distinguished panel of some of the world’s leading ALS specialists together with CERF’s executive leadership. The $250,000 award will be shared with the laboratory of PathMaker’s Scientific Founder, Prof. Zaghloul Ahmed, Chairman and Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy and Program in Neuroscience, City University of New York (CUNY)/College of Staten Island (CSI), where the pioneering pre-clinical studies took place.
“We are tremendously honored to be recognized by CERF for our work and innovation in the treatment of ALS,” said Nader Yaghoubi, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of PathMaker. “The therapeutic options currently available for those suffering from ALS are very limited. Based on groundbreaking work by Dr. Zaghloul Ahmed’s research group at CUNY/CSI, we believe our non-pharmacological and non-invasive approach represents a potential new modality for addressing motor neuron disease. We are also pleased to be collaborating with Sabrina Paganoni, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Co-Director of the MGH Neurological Clinical Research Institute, and physician-scientist at the Healey & AMG Center for ALS at Mass General, and J. Leon Morales-Quezada, M.D., Ph.D., Director Integrative Rehabilitation Lab and Research Associate Director, Spaulding Neuromodulation Center at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital as we advance this technology into clinical application in ALS.”
“Our hyperexcitability suppression technology enables the non-invasive suppression of overactive motor neurons – this is an approach that has not previously been applied to ALS. We have already obtained very promising results in our pre-clinical studies, and these results have been presented at recent ALS conferences,” said Prof. Zaghloul Ahmed, Ph.D., PathMaker’s Scientific Founder, “We are grateful for the support and recognition from CERF for the work we are doing, which invigorates our efforts.”
“We are very pleased to see the exciting potential for application of neuromodulation to ALS,” said Hazel Cullen, Manager of the CERF Prize. “We hope that this support can facilitate efforts to move PathMaker’s promising technology into clinical application in ALS.” More information about CERF and the CERF Prize can be found on the CERF website.