round logo Carthera GLIOBLASTOMA
and CNS DISEASES
Revolutionizingbrain treatments

Carthera® is a clinical-stage medtech company focused on developing innovative ultrasound-based medical devices to treat a wide range of severe brain disorders

Learn more about Carthera

logo-carthera CARTHERA In a few figures

2010
Incorporation of Carthera

Our team

22 full-time specialists, 4 VC funds, presence in France and USA

 

About Us
5
Ongoing clinical trials

Indications

Glioblastoma, Brain Metastases, Alzheimer’s Disease

Research & Development
3
International pharma partners

Strategy

Develop partnering therapies to address high unmet medical needs

40k
New GBM cases every year

Our ambition

We aim to change the future for patients with brain tumors

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logo-carthera NO BRAIN DISEASE beyond reach

Carthera® designs innovative therapeutic ultrasound-based medical devices to treat brain tumors and other severe brain disorders.

Carthera® has developed SonoCloud®, a groundbreaking medical device that emits ultrasound to temporarily increase the permeability of the blood vessels in the brain.

SonoCloud® is an intracranial implant that opens the blood-brain barrier (BBB) before or after the injection of chemotherapy or other therapeutic agents (e.g. immunotherapy). Four minutes of low-intensity pulsed ultrasound (LIPU) opens the BBB for several hours thereby increasing the concentration of therapeutic molecules in the brain.

The SonoCloud® technology is being developed for a wide range of brain diseases. Oncology indications (glioblastoma, brain metastasis) are the company’s primary target, with investigations ongoing into other conditions, including neurodegenerative diseases, in particular Alzheimer’s Disease.

Our solutions
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logo-carthera CLINICAL NEED AND SOLUTION Overcoming the BBB

Brain cancer and more generally diseases affecting the brain currently have limited treatments options. The impermeable blood-brain barrier (BBB) hinders therapeutic agent delivery. Finding a new and effective strategy to increase the delivery of existing and novel agents to the brain would revolutionize treatment of these diseases.

The BBB is an impermeable cellular structure that protects the brain from pathogens circulating in the blood but also prevents therapeutic agents from reaching their target (e.g. disseminated tumor cells in normal brain tissue). As a consequence, the BBB limits the efficacy of traditional chemotherapies and of other newer classes of agents such as immunotherapies, which have shown significant clinical efficacy for a broad range of other solid tumors.

The SonoCloud® device uses Low Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound (LIPU) energy to temporarily disrupt the BBB in a controlled manner. The pulsed ultrasound generated by the device (sonication) creates oscillation of concomitantly infused gas microbubbles (ultrasound resonator). This physical effect induces local and reversible opening of the BBB. Administration of the drug close to the sonication procedure allows for enhanced drug diffusion in the targeted areas of the brain.

This innovative technology […] opens both the BBB, as well as exciting therapeutic possibilities for gliomas, a disease beyond reach for most drugs

Prof. Roger Stupp

Chief of Neuro-Oncology – Department of Neurology at Northwestern University – Feinberg School of Medicine

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logo-carthera Our latest news

Last publication Scientific publication

Fc-enhanced anti-CTLA-4, anti-PD-1, doxorubicin, and ultrasound- mediated BBB opening: A novel combinatorial immunotherapy regimen for gliomas

Neuro-Oncology - July 2024

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Scientific publication

Effect of ultrasound-mediated blood-spinal cord barrier opening on survival and motor function in females in an ALS mouse model

The Lancet - July 2024

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Press

Carthera receives positive opinion from French High Authority for Health on Innovation Funding scheme to treat patients with recurrent glioblastoma

1 july 2024 - Following positive opinion, ultrasound-based medical device company will obtain temporary funding to conduct first registrational trial of SonoCloud® device in France.

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Scientific publication

Ultrasound-mediated delivery of doxorubicin to the brain results in immune modulation and improved responses to PD-1 blockade in gliomas

Nature Communications - June 2024

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Press

Carthera receives Orphan Drug Designation (ODD) from US and EU authorities for carboplatin in malignant glioma

14 may 2024 - Orphan designation shows recognition of enhanced therapeutic potential of carboplatin when used with Carthera’s SonoCloud® technology.

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Scientific publication

Paclitaxel and Carboplatin in Combination with Low-Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound for Glioblastoma

Clinical Cancer Research - April 2024

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Press

Carthera partners with Agenus and Northwestern University for phase 2a trial combining SonoCloud-9® with checkpoint inhibitors to treat glioblastoma

9 april 2024 - World-first trial could change standard of care for unmethylated glioblastoma patients.

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Press

Positive results from phase I/II clinical trial of SonoCloud-9® in treatment of glioblastoma published in Nature Communications

5 march 2024 - Results demonstrate safety and potential efficacy of SonoCloud-9® in treating recurrent glioblastoma.

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Scientific publication

Repeated blood–brain barrier opening with a nine-emitter implantable ultrasound device in combination with carboplatin in recurrent glioblastoma: a phase I/II clinical trial

Nature Communications - February 2024

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Press

Carthera enrolls first patient in pivotal trial of SonoCloud-9® device for treatment of recurrent glioblastoma

February 5, 2024 - Registrational study aims to enroll 560 US and EU patients over next two years, with view to obtaining marketing authorization.

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Press

Series B round reaches €42M

December 11, 2023 - Carthera announces an additional €4.5M in funding to complement its Series B financing round, bringing the total raised to €42M ($45M).

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Press

Carthera signs strategic collaboration with Accord Healthcare

November 6, 2023 - Carthera announces the signing of a strategic collaboration with Accord Healthcare Limited, a leading pharmaceutical company, for the supply of carboplatin.

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Scientific publication

Repeated blood–brain barrier opening with an implantable ultrasound device for delivery of albumin-bound paclitaxel in patients with recurrent glioblastoma: a phase I clinical trial

Lancet Oncology - May 2023

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Scientific publication

Evaluating drug delivery enhancement following ultrasound treatment

Lancet Oncology - May 2023

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Scientific publication

Advances in Blood-Brain Barrier Disruption to Facilitate Drug Delivery for Infiltrative Gliomas

Advances in Oncology - May 2023

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Press

Carthera appoints Dr. Oern Stuge as chairman of board of directors

September 18, 2023 – Medical device industry executive with 30+ years expertise brings wealth of experience in product development and commercial launches to support Carthera’s future growth.

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Scientific publication

Childhood Brain Tumors: A Review of Strategies to Translate CNS Drug Delivery to Clinical Trials

Cancers - January 2023

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Scientific publication

Low-Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound-Mediated Blood-Brain Barrier Opening Increases Anti-Programmed Death-Ligand 1 Delivery and Efficacy in Gl261 Mouse Model

Pharmaceutics - January 2023

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Press

Carthera closes €37.5M Series B funding round

June 27, 2023 - New funds will help launch pivotal multicenter trial in patients with recurrent glioblastoma and advance clinical pipeline.

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Press

Promising results from SonoCloud-9 clinical trial in combination with nab-paclitaxel have been published in Lancet Oncology

May 3, 2023 - Four-to six-fold increase in drug concentrations measured in human brain after blood-brain barrier opening with SonoCloud-9 System

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Press

Carthera announces positive outcome of End-of-Phase 2 meeting with FDA for SonoCloud-9 system for treatment of recurrent glioblastoma

March 13, 2023 - Carthera and FDA aligned on key aspects of proposed pivotal trial design.

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Press

Carthera receives FDA Breakthrough Device Designation for SonoCloud-9 system

June 22, 2022 - Breakthrough Status allows for enhanced interaction with FDA and recognizes SonoCloud® as innovative and promising approach for treatment of recurrent glioblastoma.

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Scientific publication

Pilot study of repeated blood-brain barrier disruption in patients with mild Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer’s Research & Therapy - March 2022

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Scientific publication

Opening of the Blood-Brain Barrier Using Low-Intensity Pulsed Ultrasound Enhances Responses to Immunotherapy in Preclinical Glioma Models

Clinical Cancer Research - August 2021

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Press

SonoCloud® technology enhances the efficacy of immunotherapies for the treatment of brain tumor.

June 9, 2021 - SonoCloud® device can enhance delivery of CAR-T therapies and penetration of checkpoint inhibitors into the brain of preclinical glioma models.

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Press

Launch of a new phase I/IIclinical trial in collaboration with Northwestern University in Chicago

December 16, 2020 - The trial will recruit up to 39 patients with recurrent glioblastoma to test the SonoCloud-9 device in combination with Abraxane®.

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Press

Carthera receive €2M grant and €10.5M equity from the European Innovation Council

September 14, 2020 - Carthera announces that it has been selected by the EIC (European Innovation Council) pilot gas pedal program for the development of its DOMEUS project.

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Press

First patient enrolled in new clinical trial for SonoCloud technology in melanoma

June 8, 2020 - The SoniMel study aims to demonstrate safety of using the SonoCloud® technology with checkpoint inhibitors for the treatment of brain metastases from melanoma.

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Scientific publication

Ultrasound-induced blood-brain barrier disruption for the treatment of gliomas and other primary CNS tumors

Cancer Letters - June 2020

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Scientific publication

Blood–brain barrier opening with low intensity pulsed ultrasound for immune modulation and immune therapeutic delivery to CNS tumors

Journal of Neuro-Oncology - February 2020

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Scientific publication

Ultrasound-mediated Delivery of Paclitaxel for Glioma: A Comparative Study of Distribution, Toxicity, and Efficacy of Albumin-bound Versus Cremophor Formulations

Clinical Cancer Research - January 2020

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Scientific publication

Blood-brain barrier disruption with low-intensity pulsed ultrasound for the treatment of pediatric brain tumors: a review and perspectives

Neurosurg Focus - January 2020

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Scientific publication

Study of the means to characterize the opening of the blood-brain barrier induced by an implantable ultrasound device

PhD Thesis from Université de Lyon - December 2019

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Press

Strategic collaboration with US-based company Lantheus

December 9, 2019 - Carthera enters into a strategic collaboration agreement with U.S.-based Lantheus to provide microbubbles for use with the SonoCloud device.

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Press

Latest data from the SonoCloud-9 clinical study presented at SNO on November 20-24, 2019

Carthera will present at this conference an update on its on-going work to develop the SonoCloud for treatment of brain tumors.

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Press

Collaboration with KIYATEC in effort to bring personalized medicine to patients stricken by brain cancer

November 18, 2019 - KIYATEC and Carthera announce that they have entered into a clinical collaboration for the purpose of advancing innovation and improving treatments for patients with glioblastoma.

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Press

FDA approval to launch a Phase 1/2a trial in glioblastoma

July 9, 2019 - Carthera receives FDA approval to launch a Phase 1/2a clinical trial in the US with its SonoCloud-9 device in patients with recurrent glioblastoma.

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Press

Pascal Girin, new chairman of the Board of Directors

June 25, 2019 - Carthera appoints Pascal Girin as chairman of Board of Directors

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Scientific publication

Temporary blood–brain barrier disruption by low intensity pulsed ultrasound increases carboplatin delivery and efficacy in preclinical models of glioblastoma

Journal of Neuro-Oncology - June 2019

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Press

Publishing of complete results of Phase I/IIa clinical trial using the SonoCloud-1 ultrasound implant

April 2, 2019 - Carthera publishes complete results of PhaseI/IIa clinical trial using its SonoCloud-1 ultrasound implant for treatment of glioblastoma

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Scientific publication

Safety and Feasibility of Repeated and Transient Blood–Brain Barrier Disruption by Pulsed Ultrasound in Patients with Recurrent Glioblastoma

Clinical Cancer Research - March 2019

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Scientific publication

Blood-brain barrier disruption in humans using an implantable ultrasound device: quantification with MR images and correlation with local acoustic pressure

Journal of NeuroSurgery - February 2019

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Press

ANSM approval to launch a phase I-II clinical trial for the SonoCloud-9 device

January 15, 2019 - Carthera obtains ANSM approval to launch its Phase I-II clinical trial for the SonoCloud-9 device in the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma

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Press

Closing of a €9M ($10.3M) Series B funding round

December 12, 2018 - Carthera closes a €9M ($10.3M) Series B funding round.

Scientific publication

Potentialisation des chimiothérapies dans le traitement du glioblastome : étude des transporteurs ABC et ouverture de la barrière hémato-encéphalique par ultrasons

PhD Thesis from Université Paris-Saclay prepared at Université Paris-Sud - May 2018

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Scientific publication

Capacitive Micro-machined Ultrasound Transducers for Interstitial High Intensity Ultrasound Therapies

IEEE transactions on ultrasonics, ferroelectrics, and frequency control - May 2017

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Scientific publication

Blood-brain barrier, cytotoxic chemotherapies and glioblastoma

Expert review of neurotherapeutics - October 2016

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Scientific publication

Safe long-term repeated disruption of the blood-brain barrier using an implantable ultrasound device: a multiparametric study in a primate mod

Journal of NeuroSurgery - June 2016

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Scientific publication

Clinical trial of blood-brain barrier disruptionby pulsed ultrasound

Science Translational Medicine - June 2016

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Scientific publication

Enhanced brain distribution ofcarboplatin ina primate model afterblood–brain barrier disruption using an implantable ultrasound device

Cancer Chemotherapy Pharmacology - 2016

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Scientific publication

Ultrasound-induced opening of the blood-brain barrier to enhance temozolomide and irinotecan delivery: an experimental study in rabbits

Journal of NeuroSurgery - November 2015

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Scientific publication

A multi-element interstitial ultrasound applicator for the thermaltherapy of brain tumors

Journal of the Acoustic Society of America - October 2013

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Scientific publication

Opening of the blood-brain barrier with an unfocused ultrasound device in rabbits

Journal of Neurosurgery - June 2013

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