Next Step Robotics Graduates from the MDC Studio
MDC's first client company, Next Step Robotics has graduated from the MDC Studio, moving to a space in the University of Maryland BioPark where they will be able to see patients in their facility.
Next Step became an MDC client in 2017, joining MDC to develop its first product the AmbleBot®. Co-founded by MDC Partner Dr. Richard Macko MD, together with Brad Hennessie MBA, Dr. Anindo Roy PhD and Dr. Larry Forrester PhD, Next Step completed the development of the AmbleBot® in 2019, testing it on stroke victims throughout 2020. During its time in the MDC Studio, Next Step increased its staff from 1 to 8 and raised over $7 million in contracts and investments, including a $5.4 million U44 award from the NIH. Next Step investors received the State of Maryland Biotechnology Investment Incentive Tax Credit on 4 occasions.
"We are very proud of Next Step's accomplishments. The AmbleBot is a remarkable product that will help thousands of stroke victims recover the ability to walk naturally. Brad, Rich, Anindo, Larry and the team have done an outstanding job in development, market outreach and fund raising" said Gil Blankenship CEO of MDC.
"Being part of MDC was critical to the success of Next Step Robotics. We want to thank all members of the MDC team for their support," said Brad Hennissee CEO of Next Step Robotics.
About Next Step Robotics
The NextStep Robotics team has used their years of experience with novel robotic solutions in the field of neuro-rehabilitation to create a game-changing robotic ankle training device to rehabilitate patients that have foot drop because of stroke and other disease conditions. Until now, conventional care for injuries resulting from foot drop were intensive physical therapy, and thereafter, uncomfortable orthotics or assistive devices. The AMBLE device developed by NextStep Robotics is unlike anything available on the market today.
NextStep Robotics has an overarching purpose: combine robotics and information technology to provide movement-based therapy to alleviate foot drop by improving voluntary control of the affected ankle. Our signature device, the AMBLE, is designed to provide step-by-step graded assistance that over time, is progressively reduced as the patient’s foot drop severity improves. Unlike substitutive devices like prostheses, our device is intended to alleviate the workload of physical therapists while maximizing mobility outcomes for patients with foot drop. We are committed to enriching patients’ lives.
About the MDC Studio
The MDC Studio is the operational unit of the Maryland Development Center Partnership, which was founded in 2016 in Baltimore, Maryland. MDC Studio functions as a MedTech Startup Studio that provides engineering support, business development services, and funding to create and support companies commercializing medical devices. The Studio works with inventors to develop their ideas into working prototypes and marketable products and form companies that will grow and create value for both their shareholders and all of society. MDC Studio Baltimore is located in the historic Wilkens-Robins building in the heart of Baltimore, near the University of Maryland Medical Center, and Johns Hopkins University where MDC’s founding partners and affiliates practice, teach, and research state of the art surgery and medicine.