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Medtech Company HistoSonics Valued at $2.25 Billion in Sale
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By Brian Gormley, WSJ Pro
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Good day. Investors have struck a deal to buy a majority stake in HistoSonics, valuing the company whose noninvasive therapy for liver tumors shows promise in other diseases at $2.25 billion.
An investor group acquired two-thirds of Plymouth, Minn.-based HistoSonics, which uses focused ultrasound to mechanically destroy and liquefy tumors.
The treatment, histotripsy, received Food and Drug Administration clearance in October 2023 to treat tumors that originated in or have spread to the liver.
This transaction, led by new investor K5 Global, follows last year’s $102 million Series D financing, which valued HistoSonics at about $600 million, said HistoSonics Chief Executive Mike Blue.
HistoSonics, founded in 2009, has sold more than 100 systems and over 2,000 patients have been treated, Blue said. The treatment can be used to downstage patients and reduce disease burden so they become candidates for surgery or a liver transplant, he said. It also is used to relieve pain.
Read the full story here.
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Montana has adopted rules making it easier for businesses to provide experimental drugs, therapies and devices, and to profit from selling them. PHOTO: F. GORDN/CLASSICSTOCK/GETTY IMAGES
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Biohacking. Montana is well known for luring visitors with outdoor activities such as fly fishing and hiking. Now, longevity companies are exploring investments in the state in a moonshot bid to make it a medical tourism hub.
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State legislators have backed measures designed to ease patients’ access to therapies not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The measures, known as “Right to Try” laws, exist in more than 40 states. But Montana has pushed even further by adopting rules to make it easier for businesses to provide experimental drugs, therapies or devices and profit from selling them.
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Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pledged to increase access to alternative medicine and recently shared publicly that he traveled to Antigua to receive a non-FDA-approved stem-cell therapy for his voice condition, known as spasmodic dysphonia. “We’re going to end the war at FDA against alternative medicine,” Kennedy said in an interview released in May with self-described biohacker Gary Brecka. “If you want to take an experimental drug, you ought to be able to do that.”
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The laws have drawn the ire of some medical professionals, who fear that hopeful patients will try experimental drugs only to find them ineffective at best and harmful at worst. They also fear the state is on shaky legal ground with federal regulators who have, in recent years, cracked down on businesses offering certain unapproved therapies.
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$2.25 Billion
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Medical-device company HistoSonics's valuation following its sale to an investor group.
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HHS to Wind Down mRNA Vaccine Programs
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The Department of Health and Human Services said it is winding down its mRNA vaccine-development activities under the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority. The move includes terminating 22 vaccine investments and canceling and shrinking various contracts and solicitations, HHS said Tuesday. HHS said it reviewed its investments in mRNA-related programs initiated after Covid-19 broke out. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the review showed the vaccines fail to protect effectively against upper respiratory infections such as Covid-19 and influenza. Included in the wind-down is the cancellation of BARDA’s grant to Moderna for its mRNA-based H5N1 vaccine, the termination of contracts with Emory University and Tiba Biotech and removing mRNA-related work in existing contracts with Luminary Labs, ModeX and Seqirus. The department is also rejecting or canceling multiple proposals for awards.
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Funds
Asset management firm Expanse launched a venture arm with an $18 million inaugural fund to focus on the future of finance, healthcare and commerce.
People
Instylla, a startup delivering liquid embolics for interventional radiology, appointed Sean Boyle as chief executive officer. He previously served as vice president and general manager of peripheral intervention at Becton Dickinson.
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Chai Discovery, a San Francisco-based AI-driven drug discovery startup, scored $70 million in Series A funding. Menlo Ventures led the round, which included participation from DCVC, Thrive Capital and others.
Positive Development, a McLean, Va.-based provider of developmental therapy for autistic children, closed a $51.5 million Series C round from investors including aMoon and Flare Capital Partners. Tomer Berkovitz of aMoon joined the company’s board.
Elion, a New York-based AI-powered research and intelligence platform for healthcare technology, completed a $9.3 million seed round led by New Enterprise Associates.
Centauri Therapeutics, a U.K.-based immunotherapy company focused on infectious diseases and oncology, added $5.1 million in funding from CARB-X.
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Former EMT Kaylee Abbott has decided that neither of her two children will get additional vaccines. PHOTO: CHARITY RACHELLE FOR WSJ
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Rare disease patients caught in Trump crackdown on foreign grant awards (STAT)
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Bird flu may be airborne on dairy farms, scientists report (New York Times)
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U.S. biotech needs government support to match China’s gains, Pfizer CEO says (BioPharma Dive)
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New Medicaid federal work requirements mean less leeway for states (KFF Health News)
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