Lifeward Appoints Dr. Keith D. Rose as Chief Medical Officer to Support Expansion of Neurorehabilitation Portfolio and Advance Biomed Platform
Rhea-AI Summary
Lifeward (Nasdaq: LFWD) appointed Dr. Keith D. Rose as Chief Medical Officer, effective May 19, 2026, to lead its global medical strategy.
Dr. Rose brings 30 years of rehabilitation and neuroscience experience and will support expansion of Lifeward’s neurorehabilitation portfolio and newly acquired biomedical assets.
Positive
- Experienced physician leader with 30 years in rehabilitation and neuroscience
- Internal promotion provides continuity in Lifeward’s medical affairs strategy
- New CMO role aligned with expansion of neurorehabilitation and biomedical portfolio
Negative
- None.
News Market Reaction – LFWD
In the May 19 session, LFWD declined 2.74%, reflecting a moderate negative market reaction.
Data tracked by StockTitan Argus on the day of publication.
Key Figures
Historical Context
| Date | Event | Sentiment | 24h Move | Catalyst |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 15 | Earnings release | Negative | +1.6% | Q1 2026 results with revenue decline but added cash and financing. |
| May 11 | Earnings schedule | Neutral | +1.6% | Announcement of date and call details for Q1 2026 results. |
| May 04 | Clinical data | Positive | -2.4% | Longitudinal safety data for ReWalk exoskeleton presented at ASIA 2026. |
| Mar 25 | Strategic partnership | Positive | -3.5% | Closure of Oramed partnership adding POD™ platform and capital access. |
| Mar 18 | Earnings & deal | Negative | -11.1% | 2025 results with losses alongside Oramed transaction and funding. |
24h Move is the share-price change in the day after each event; other market factors may also have contributed.
News often draws mixed reactions: strategic and clinical positives have previously seen negative price moves, while some earnings and scheduling updates aligned modestly with price gains or declines.
Over recent months, Lifeward reported Q4 2025 and Q1 2026 results, highlighting revenue pressure but also cost reductions and new financing. It closed a strategic partnership with Oramed on Mar 25, 2026, adding the POD™ oral delivery platform and access to up to $47 million. Clinical data at ASIA 2026 underscored long‑term safety for ReWalk. Today’s CMO appointment fits a broader narrative of expanding neurorehabilitation and biomedical capabilities following these financial and strategic steps.
Key Terms
neurorehabilitation medical
metabolic disease medical
neurosciences medical
spinal cord injury medical
movement disorders medical
rehabilitation medicine medical
sleep medicine medical
medical devices technical
AI-generated analysis. How Rhea-AI works. Not financial advice.
Veteran physician, medical affairs and clinical research leader brings 30 years of rehabilitation medicine experience and deep expertise in neuroscience, mobility technologies, and metabolic disease
Promotion reflects Lifeward’s continued investment in clinical innovation, evidence generation, and patient outcomes across its expanding med-tech rehabilitation and biomed technology portfolio
HUDSON, Mass. and YOKNEAM ILLIT, Israel, May 19, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lifeward Ltd. (Nasdaq: LFWD) (“Lifeward” or the “Company”), a diversified biomedical innovation company with a portfolio of commercialized neurorehabilitation products and a biomedical pipeline, today announced the appointment of Keith D. Rose, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer. Dr. Rose, who previously served as Vice President, Medical Affairs and Medical Director, Neurosciences at Lifeward, will lead the Company’s global medical strategy.
“Keith has already made a significant impact at Lifeward through his clinical leadership, scientific expertise, strategic insight, and deep commitment to patients,” said Mark Grant, CEO of Lifeward. “As we continue to broaden our rehabilitation technology portfolio and advance our newly acquired biomedical assets, Keith’s extensive background in physical medicine, neuroscience, metabolic disease, and medical affairs makes him exceptionally well-positioned to help drive our next phase of growth.”
Dr. Rose brings more than three decades of experience in rehabilitation medicine, neuroscience, medical affairs and patient care across both clinical practice and the medical technology and biopharmaceutical industries. Since joining Lifeward in 2023, he has played a key role in advancing the Company’s medical affairs strategy, supporting payer engagement initiatives, strengthening relationships with clinicians and key opinion leaders, and expanding scientific and clinical education efforts across the organization.
“I am honored to step into the role of Chief Medical Officer at such an exciting time for Lifeward,” said Dr. Rose. “Lifeward is uniquely positioned at the intersection of innovation, rehabilitation and patient empowerment. I look forward to continuing to work alongside our talented team to expand access to life-changing technologies and therapies that help improve outcomes.”
Prior to joining Lifeward, Dr. Rose held senior medical affairs and clinical leadership positions at Biocodex, Novocure, Ipsen Bioscience, Jazz Pharmaceuticals, and Indivior, with therapeutic expertise spanning neuroscience, neurodegenerative diseases, spinal cord injury, movement disorders, rehabilitation medicine, and medical devices. Earlier in his career, he served for many years as a practicing physiatrist and medical director specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation, sleep medicine, and neurorehabilitation.
Dr. Rose earned his Doctor of Medicine degree with distinction from The George Washington University School of Medicine and completed a combined five-year residency in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and Pediatric Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.
About Lifeward
Lifeward is a global innovator focused on advancing medical technologies and biomedical solutions that improve lives. The Company’s established portfolio includes market-leading neurorehabilitation technologies such as the ReWalk® Exoskeleton, AlterG® Anti-Gravity system, MyoCycle® FES System, and ReStore® Exo-Suit. These solutions span the continuum of care in physical rehabilitation and recovery, deploying the most advanced robotics and AI technologies to restore full health and quality of life to a broadening patient population. The Company is now executing a strategic evolution into a diversified biomedical company, expanding beyond rehabilitation and into high-value therapeutic platforms. This includes its Protein Oral Delivery (POD™) platform, designed to enable oral delivery of biologic drugs, with lead candidate ORMD-0801 (oral insulin) targeting a large and underserved diabetes market.
Lifeward has operations in the United States, Israel, and Germany. For more information on the Lifeward mission and product portfolio, please visit GoLifeward.com.
Lifeward®, ReWalk®, ReStore® and Alter G® are registered trademarks of Lifeward Ltd. and/or its affiliates.
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 the Company'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 the Company’s control. Important factors that could cause the Company’s actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others: management’s expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding the future including, without limitation, statements regarding: the future operations of Lifeward, including research and development activities; the nature, strategy and focus of Lifeward; Lifeward’s ability to successfully integrate Oratech into its organization and realize the anticipated benefits therefrom; anticipated clinical drug development activities and related timelines, and other clinical results; the sufficiency of post-transaction resources to support the advancement of Lifeward’s pipeline through certain milestones and the time period over which Lifeward’s post-transaction capital resources will be sufficient to fund its anticipated operations; unexpected costs, charges or expenses resulting from the strategic transaction; expected timing and results of the ORMD-0801 clinical trial; legislative, regulatory, political and economic developments; the acceptance of the ReWalk 7 Personal Exoskeleton by healthcare professionals and patients; uncertainties associated with future clinical trials and the clinical development process, the product development process and FDA regulatory submission review and approval process; the Company'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; the Company's ability to maintain and grow its reputation and the market acceptance of its products; the Company's ability to achieve reimbursement from third-party payors, including CMS, for its products; the Company's limited operating history and its ability to leverage its sales, marketing and training infrastructure; the Company's expectations as to its clinical research program and clinical results; the Company's expectations regarding future growth, including its ability to increase sales in its existing geographic markets and expand to new markets; the Company’s ability to continue to operate as a going concern; the Company's ability to obtain certain components of its products from third-party suppliers and its continued access to its product manufacturers; the Company’s ability to navigate any difficulties associated with moving production of its AlterG Anti-Gravity Systems to a contract manufacturer and transitioning the manufacturing of its ReWalk products to its in-house manufacturer; the Company's ability to improve its products and develop new products; the Company'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 the Company's ability to market and sell its products; the Company's ability to gain and maintain regulatory approvals; the Company'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 Company's ability to use effectively the proceeds of its offerings of securities; and other factors discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K, as amended, for the year ended December 31, 2025 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 the Company’s actual results to differ from the statements contained herein may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for the Company to predict all of them. Except as required by law, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
Contact:
Almog Adar
Chief Financial Officer
Lifeward
E: media@golifeward.com
E: ir@golifeward.com
