Dive Brief:
- Histosonics, whose technology targets liver tumors with ultrasound pulses delivered from outside the body, has raised $102 million in new funding to support further development and commercial growth of the platform.
- The company’s histotripsy system, which gained de novo authorization in October from the Food and Drug Administration, employs sound waves to break down and destroy tumor tissue, offering a noninvasive alternative to cancer treatments such as surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, which can have severe side effects.
- The Series D financing will be used to advance work on the Edison histotripsy platform and support commercial growth in the U.S. and global markets, Histosonics said. The company also plans to use some of the funding to begin a prospective study evaluating the system in multidisciplinary approaches to treating liver tumors.
Dive Insight:
Histosonics was founded in 2009 by scientists from the University of Michigan, where the histotripsy technique was developed. The sound waves create microbubbles in the tumor that break apart the mass, killing the tumor cells while sparing surrounding healthy tissue. The body’s immune system then clears away the debris.
The system’s indication in liver disease includes liver tumors that cannot be surgically removed. Histosonics wants to expand use of the treatment to kidney, pancreas, prostate, brain and other tumor types. A pivotal trial to support a future indication for kidney tumors is underway.
“This funding will accelerate key projects designed to enhance core technical capabilities impacting current and future platforms, and support collaboration with physicians and researchers studying innovative ways to use histotripsy’s unique mechanism of action,” CEO Mike Blue said in a Thursday statement.
“By pioneering a new category of medicine with histotripsy, HistoSonics is redefining liver tumor treatment and providing hope for millions of people worldwide who desperately need new options,” Blue added.
Alpha Wave Ventures led the funding round, which included participation from existing investors Johnson & Johnson Innovation, Venture Investors, Lumira Ventures, Yonjin Venture and the State of Wisconsin Investment Board. Amzak Health and HealthQuest Capital are new investors.
Chris Dimitropoulos, Alpha Wave’s managing director for healthcare investments, will join Histosonics’ board of directors in connection with the new financing.
J&J’s venture capital arm led an $85 million financing round for Histosonics in December 2022.
Histosonics, which has offices in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and Minneapolis, has partnered with leading hospital systems such as UChicago Medicine and NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine to develop histotripsy liver programs.
Juan Rocca, surgical director for the liver cancer program at NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medicine, said targeting tumors with histotripsy may offer a treatment option for cancer patients who are too frail to withstand surgery or other interventions. Histotripsy may also help activate an immune reaction in the body, Rocca said in a recent article on the hospital’s website.
“By only destroying tissue cells, histotripsy allows for the regeneration of the tissue there, which is an important goal in liver surgery,” said Rocca.
