U-M startup HistoSonics raises $8.3M

A University of Michigan startup that’s developing a non-invasive way to remove diseased tissue from cancer patients using high-intensity ultrasound has attracted $8.3 million in Series B financing.

The investment will help advance clinical trials of HistoSonics’ Robotic Assisted Sonic Therapy — an innovative tissue-destruction technology targeted for liver cancer and other solid tumor applications.

Christine Gibbons, chief operating officer of HistoSonics, said the therapy is based on the science of histotripsy, which uses pulsed sound energy for the precise destruction of targeted tissues. It was discovered and developed by leading scientists at U-M led by Charles Cain, professor of biomedical engineering. Cain has served as an adviser to the company, which licensed the technology from U-M Tech Transfer.

“It uses focused sound energy to treat diseased tissue non-invasively. The mechanical aspect of this focus sound allows us to make the treatment area very precise,” she said. “We believe it will be attractive to clinicians because it can be visualized in real time with an ultrasound or MRI and will address a significant unmet clinical need.”

With the global cancer burden continuing to surge, and the cost of cancer expected to increase from $290 billion in 2012 to $458 billion by 2030, there is a continuing demand for new and better therapeutic options.

Funds will be used to support clinical studies and further development of a clinical system for the liver cancer application of its therapy.