Akadeum Life Sciences Inc. hopes to transform the world of cell therapy with the Alerion cell separation system, which it plans to launch in the next 12 months, Brandon McNaughton, founder and CEO of Akadeum, told BioWorld. The instrument will provide a closed system for separating T cells from a leukopak using Akadeum’s buoyancy-activated cell-sorting (BACS) microbubble technology.
Bracco Imaging SpA and Sonothera Inc. have entered into an agreement under which Bracco Imaging will provide its cutting-edge gas-filled microbubbles technology platform to Sonothera for use in the development of its novel, ultrasound-guided nonviral gene therapy platform.
Akadeum Life Sciences Inc. is rolling out a new dead cell removal kit using its patented microbubble technology. The research-use-only Dead Cell Removal Microbubble Kit (DCR kit) is currently available via direct sales to the U.S. market and on the company’s website. Akadeum’s DCR kit is designed to resolve current challenges in dead cell removal, which can hamper elimination of dead cells and the salvage of viable ones for research use.
Researchers at Thomas Jefferson University have found that using ultrasound to pop microbubbles already present in a contrast agent nearly doubled liver tumor response to transarterial radioembolization. The procedure raised no safety concerns and increased the likelihood of patients receiving a liver transplant.
Lantheus Holdings Inc., of North Billerica, Mass., has entered a strategic collaboration with Paris-based Carthera SAS for the use of its microbubbles in combination with Carthera’s investigational Sonocloud system. The implantable device is in development for the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma, a fast-growing brain tumor with a post-diagnosis median survival of just 15 months. The new deal furthers two of Lantheus’ strategic goals, finding new applications for its microbubbles and expanding its footprint in oncology.