HistoSonics, a private medical device company, is in the process of developing a non-invasive platform with the aid of histotripsy to prepare sonic beam therapy.
The treatment attempts to use focused ultrasound beams to destroy harmful and undesirable tissues and tumors at a subcellular level. Its current focus is on the Edison platform, where it is seeking to combine imaging with proprietary sensing technology in its external beam treatments.
The unique characteristics of such a treatment are the precision and control that HistoSonics offers, while simultaneously reducing any deleterious side effects. However, it is still in the trial phase and not ready for sale.
In order to get to the market sooner, and already having passed some clinical trial runs, notably concerning its liver tissue-destroying therapy- the company raised $85 million in venture capital in its most recent round of funding with Johnson and Johnson being the most notable investor.
Others that partook include prior investors such as Venture Investors, Lumira Investors, Yonjin Venture, and State of Wisconsin Investment Board to name a few. Signature Bank, which the company was in a loan agreement of $15 million with, agreed to extend another $15 million as well.
This is not the first time that HistoSonics has seen the flow of Venture capital into its company. In 2019, Varian Medical Systems- which has been acquired by Siemens Healtthineers in the intermediate period- was the lead investor in the Minneapolis-based company’s last round of series C funding, totaling $54 million. A follow-up round of C-1 funding in the middle of 2020 brought in another $40 million, this time with Yonjin Venture at the helm.
President and CEO Mike Blue noted, “ These financings are an extraordinary vote of confidence in our team, as well as the novel platform and solution we have developed.” He was not the only one to see the promise that HistoSonics represents. Erica Rogers, CEO of Silk Road Medical was appointed to the Board of Directors of the company. Silk Road Medical is a $2 Billion company having launched a successful IPO in 2019. She also expressed enthusiasm for the future of HistoSonics, and expressed a desire to help the company achieve its full potential.
Underpinning these successes has been the new method the company hopes will enable the fight against tumors of various types. The method works from outside the body, focusing ultrasound beams on the relevant body part. This creates small bubbles that destroy the cells in question.
Results from trials conducted in September of this year looked optimistic; technical success was achieved in the case of all 8 of the participants of this study, and no harmful side effects were reported after one month of the experiment. The company has also submitted data, via its Hope4Liver trial to the FDA, and is preparing for another clinical trial related to kidney tumors.
Having already gotten breakthrough device designation last year, HistoSonics hopes to get full market authorization from the governmental agency sometime around next year.
