Acorda: Hope after spinal injury

When Acorda Therapeutics Inc. founder Ron Cohen graduated from medical school in 1981, the clinical paradigm for neurological diseases was "diagnose and adios." Things have changed. While there are still no cures, or even effective treatments, there is enough scientific evidence to make the quest for therapies worth the effort.

The company's focus is on paraplegic and quadriplegic patients who have lost neurological function as a result of traumatic spinal cord injury. Acorda's core programs are in acute injury and in restorative therapy for chronic injury. Because no single technology is likely to address all the clinical needs in SCI, the company is technology-agnostic, focusing instead on the disease itself...