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SonALAsense
SonALAsense is testing sonodynamic therapy, in which patients receive a drug that cancer cells turn into a light-sensitive chemical and then focused ultrasound is beamed through the skull to activate it, killing brain tumour cells without surgery.
Overview
SonALAsense develops sonodynamic therapy (SDT), a drug-device combination of SONALA-001, an intravenous formulation of aminolevulinic acid (ALA), with MR-guided focused ultrasound. Tumour cells preferentially convert ALA to protoporphyrin IX; ultrasound activation causes oxidative stress and targeted cell death while sparing normal brain. The company states it is the first to bring SDT into clinical trials: a phase 0/1 study in recurrent high-grade glioma at the Ivy Brain Tumor Center showed targeted cell death in human tumour tissue without off-target effects, and a phase 1/2 trial in children with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma is recruiting after FDA Safe to Proceed letters in 2022. In December 2024 ARPA-H committed up to USD 46 million to develop SDT for blood cancers including leukaemia and multiple myeloma. The company has raised more than USD 20 million from accredited investors and completed an undisclosed Series B in 2022.
Headquarters
Oakland, CA, US
Funding
All startupsStartup
Investors not recorded; see the round sources.
Rounds on record
| Round | Year | Amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grant · ARPA-H award of up to USD 46 million (Dec 2024) for sonodynamic therapy in haematologic malignancies; milestone-contingent | 2024 | $46M | arpa-h.gov |
| Series B · Series B completion announced June 2022; amount not disclosed | 2022 | undisclosed | sonalasense.com |
Amounts only where the cited source states them. Rounds without a public source are not listed.
Stage
Startup
Website
Notes
top- The caller's hint of Berkeley was not confirmed; the June 2022 release is datelined Oakland, CA and the site gives only a 510 area code phone number. Sonodynamic therapy has no exact technology id; hifu-histotripsy is used for the focused ultrasound device and the ALA mechanism is described in the summary (the protoporphyrin IX detail is general knowledge). Series B amount and other investor names are undisclosed. Founding year not stated. 'radiation' and 'surgery' sections are included as the closest fronts for a non-invasive ablative therapy.
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