The EU has awarded about $1.6 million to a consortium of companies developing an ultrasound-triggered drug-delivery technology. The consortium is composed of Epitarget of Norway, the French laboratory INSERM and EDAP TMS, a French company that develops therapeutic ultrasound products. The money will be used to push the technology from laboratory to patient.
With this technology, tumors are hit with a nanosized drug carrier, which is activated by an ultrasound device. This new investment by the EU will allow the consortium to develop an ultrasound prototype and conduct safety and efficacy studies in animal models. The prototype nanocarrier is a liposome that contains a breast cancer drug.
"Ultrasound triggered drug delivery is drawing growing interest among the medical community as it approaches the clinical development phase," Emmanuel Blanc, EDAP's VP and research director, said in a news release. "Each partner's complementary expertise in its specific field and their experience in monitoring clinical environment are essential to successfully implementing this project."
According to the release, the non-invasive ultrasound approach has already demonstrated efficacy in prostate cancer.
- read the EDAP TMS news release