Israeli startup, Alpha TAU Medical, plans to kill tumors from within
Tow Israeli MedTech companies raised funds those days: Alpha TAU has raised 26 million round B, and Curesponse raised $5 million.
Israeli MedTech startup Alpha TAU Medical, which uses Alpha ray technology to kill solid cancer tumors from within, has raised 26 million Series B investment led by existing investors, OurCrowd, Shavit Capital, and Madison Ventures alongside new investors from Israel and North America.
Founded in 2016 by two Tel Aviv University professors, CSO Prof. Yona Keisar and CPO Prof. Itzhak Kelson, who both invented the company’s DaRT technology in 2003. Alpha TAU Medical has raised $55 million to date.
The funds will go for building production centers in Israel and abroad, as well as towards receiving a CE quality standard stamp attesting compatibility to market in EU countries.
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Alpha TAU uses Alpha DaRT (Diffusing Alpha-emitters Radiation Therapy) to insert the seeds directly into the tumor, releasing a small amount of radioactive substance, called Radium-224, over a range of a few millimeters, without contaminating the surrounding tissue, allowing for secure treatment of the tumor itself. Radium-224’s short half-life, about 3.7 days, allows for a quick and minimally invasive treatment that kills the tumor from within.
Over the last year, Alpha TAU Medical has completed a series of clinical trials in people in Israel and Italy to treat Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC). Additionally, the company is performing further clinical trials in other places around the world, including first trial in a U.S. medical center and a center specializing in pancreatic cancer, in Montreal.
“The funds will assist us in our mission to help cancer patients even in these challenging times when the medical focus is mostly on the COVID-19 virus,” said CEO, Uzi Sofer.
Another Israeli MedTech company, Curesponse, has raised $6 million from Marius Nacht’s fund aMoon and from British NCL Technology Ventures. Curesponse has developed a 3-dimensional tissue culture system for modeling cancer growth and drug response. The company has also created tumors for Pharma companies that want to test treatments on specific kinds of tumors.
Read more about: Alpha TAU Medical, Curesponse
