Lantheus Grants Rights for the Use of its Microbubbles to SonoThera for its Ultrasound-Guided Nonviral Gene Therapy Platform


Lantheus Holdings, Inc. recently announced a strategic collaboration with SonoThera, Inc. in which Lantheus’ microbubbles will be used in combination with SonoThera’s ultrasound-guided, nonviral, gene therapy platform and treatments.

“Ultrasound and our microbubble platform have the potential to offer an alternative path to viral vectors for gene therapy delivery and potentially increase their safety, impact, and cost-effectiveness,” said Etienne Montagut, Chief Business Officer, Lantheus. “We are pleased to be collaborating with microbubble and gene therapy expert, SonoThera, on this important innovation.”

Microbubbles have played an important role in cardiac imaging for years. Since its launch in 2001, Lantheus’ microbubble has been the most chosen, studied, and trusted ultrasound enhancing agent in the US with more than 21 million studies performed. The company continues to seek to enhance its microbubble platform through new collaborations.

SonoThera plans to combine its nonviral vector gene therapy delivery technology with Lantheus’ microbubble in several applications. Microbubble ultrasound enhancing agents have the potential to significantly improve gene therapy treatments by enhancing the delivery of genetic payloads to tissue. The physical response of microbubbles in an ultrasound field can transiently disrupt biological barriers such as the vasculature and cell membranes, enhancing genetic payload permeability into tissue.

“SonoThera is honored to have the chance to work with Lantheus, a leader in microbubble development and commercialization,” said Kenneth Greenberg, PhD, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of SonoThera. “We believe that Lantheus’ product, combined with our innovative nonviral gene therapy technology, will enable the development of a new generation of genetic therapies.”

With more than 65 years of experience in delivering life-changing science, Lantheus is committed to improving patient outcomes through diagnostics, radiotherapeutics and artificial intelligence solutions that enable clinicians to Find, Fight and Follow disease. Lantheus is headquartered in Massachusetts and has offices in New Jersey, Canada and Sweden. For more information, visit www.lantheus.com.

Founded by Drs. Kenneth Greenberg, Michael Davidson, and Steve Feinstein, SonoThera, Inc. is a biotechnology company dedicated to treating the root cause of human disease through genetic therapy. SonoThera is developing an ultrasound-guided, nonviral gene therapy platform and treatments designed to provide patients with the next generation of safe and effective genetic medicines. The platform utilizes sonoporation, a microbubble-mediated biophysical process to non-invasively deliver genetic payloads selectively targeting a wide range of organs within the body. SonoThera is headquartered in South San Francisco, CA. For more information, visit www.sonothera.com.