TAE Life Sciences raises $40m for neutron beam cancer treatment

March 13, 2018 By Fink Densford Leave a Comment

TAE Life Sciences said yesterday it raised $40 million in venture capital to support the development of its neutron beam technology designed as a potential treatment for head and neck, glioblastoma multiforme and other cancers.

The newly launched Foothill Ranch, Calif.-based company, which operates as a subsidiary of fusion energy company TAE Technologies, is developing neutron beam technology intended for Boron Neutron Capture Therapy.

As part of the company’s launch, it announced that it is partnering with Chinese BNCT company Neuboron Medtech, and that its first neutron beam system will be delivered to Neuboron for its first medical use.

“I am pleased to be publicly launching TAE Life Sciences, and for the opportunity to provide solutions for aggressive and late-stage cancer with promising new applications of accelerator-based neutron beam technology. BNCT has been investigated as a promising area of treatment for some time, but challenged by the limited radiation options for convenient clinical practice. Now, TAE Life Sciences stands ready to offer a compelling and compassionate application of medical science innovation, increasing accessibility to treatment options for a challenging disease, and improving outcomes for patients around the world,” TAE Life Sciences CEO Bruce Bauer said in a press release.

BNCT is designed to treat multi-centric, sometimes inoperable tumors diffusely embedded in normal tissue intended to provide minimal harm to healthy cells. TAE Life Science’s proprietary BNCT platform includes a tunable neutron beam and compact form factor, the company said.

Funding in the round was led by Artis Ventures, and TAE Life Sciences said it plans to work with clinical research partners to investigate the use of accelerator-based BNCT to hasten development of its proprietary beam systems as it pursues regulatory clearance.

“TAE Life Sciences has a differentiated platform in the world of nuclear medicine and oncology, and is backed by strong, early results. Their seasoned team has already shown they can execute in a short period of time while continuing to garner interest from across the globe. As early lead investors, we look forward to helping TAE Life Sciences in a similar capacity as our work with Stemcentrx. Both companies have striking similarities in their potential to reshape the future of oncology,” Artis Ventures co-founder and prez Stuart Peterson said in a prepared statement.

Medline reopens Illinois medtech sterilization plant
Medline Industries resumed sterilization operations at its Waukegan, Ill., plant on Friday, following state certification of the company’s $10 million in emission-control upgrades, the company announced. The Waukegan plant reopening follows the decision this week by officials in Cobb County, Ga., to allow an Atlanta Sterigenics EtO plant to reopen for 21 days to sterilize… […]
DeviceTalks Weekly Podcast: Deconstructing medtech’s alphabet soup – DPA, MDR, FDA are all in the news
In this week’s DeviceTalks Weekly, we’ll examine how governmental effort, both foreign and domestic, are hitting the medtech industry. Our guests include Tracy Eberly, CEO of Fang Consulting, a regulatory advisory group. Eberly will update listeners on what pushing back the MDR deadline could mean for medtech companies and why some companies may be less than… […]
AdvaMed: Invoking Defense Production Act could hinder U.S. medtech imports
Forcing manufacturers to repurpose their production lines to make equipment to fight the coronavirus epidemic might actually hurt the U.S. supply of those items, the head of medtech trade group AdvaMed said today. AdvaMed officials have talked with U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar and FDA commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn about medtech… […]
March 2020 Issue: Is software key to medical 3D printing innovation?
What’s the word on ethylene oxide? The coronavirus pandemic has pushed a lot of news out of people’s minds, but medtech has other big issues to deal with. For instance, 8 months have passed since the FDA issued a public challenge for alternatives to ethylene oxide (EtO) as a sterilant for medical devices. As I… […]
GE Healthcare quadruples ventilator production at Wisconsin plant
General Electric Healthcare (NYSE:GE) this week announced that it is doubling its production capacity for ventilators and expanding its Madison, Wisconsin, production line to 24-hour operation. In a report on GE’s website, the company shared that it has doubled its capacity of ventilator production with plans to double it again by the end of the second… […]
FDA issues FAQ on 3D-printed equipment against coronavirus
Intrepid 3D printing companies and individuals who want to print masks, gowns and other personal protective equipment (PPE) to fight the coronavirus pandemic might want to take a look at the FDA’s new frequently asked questions page on the topic. While it says it welcomes coronavirus-fighting efforts, the agency said that 3D-printed masks are unlikely… […]
Software is enabling medical 3D printing innovation: Here’s how
The 3D printers themselves get a lot of attention, but for 3D-printing to become ubiquitous in the medtech space, software will have to play a key role. A 3D printer without software to tell it where to place the material is a really nice, expensive coffee table, according to Scott Rader, a former Stratasys GM… […]
This open source ventilator hackathon could help fight the coronavirus
Infineon engineers developed a 3D printed lung ventilator to help address the shortage of ventilators due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The German federal government held a hackathon called #WirvsVirus (“We against the virus”) where 42,000 people met to find solutions to challenges from the coronavirus. Infineon engineers, led by Mahmoud Ismail who has a doctorate… […]
Could these DIY ventilators stop coronavirus from killing people?
Amid the global crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, hospitals and healthcare facilities are reporting shortages of vital equipment that not only keeps the patients safe, but the staffers, too. One important device for which demand has ramped up is ventilators for patients who need assistance with their breathing due to the respiratory effects of… […]
DIY ventilators? Not unless there’s a zombie apocalypse.
News reports of the COVID-19 virus have given a lot of space to the shortage of respiratory ventilators. The Society of Critical Care Medicine claims at least 950,000 U.S. patients could need ventilators but hospitals only have 160,000. One response to statistics like these has been a movement among open-source promoters to initiate community-designed ventilators… […]
FDA announces EUAs related to ventilators to treat coronavirus
Amid a shortage of ventilators for treating coronavirus, the FDA put out a statement confirming its stance on issuing emergency use authorizations for potential temporary fixes. The FDA said it is operating on the basis of a EUA determination that the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services issues on Feb. 4. Earlier this week, HHS declared… […]