SonoThera Inc. has secured a $125 million funding round to advance the development of a nonviral, ultrasound-mediated platform for gene therapy. This marked a major change for a significantly evolving industry, focusing on alternative delivery strategies and circumventing the multimillion-dollar manufacturing problems and safety concerns associated with the use of the more established viral vector therapies.
A strong syndicate of life science investors and strategic pharma partners led the round. Lead investors on this round included Perceptive Advisors and ARCH Venture Partners, with greater commitments from existing investors, including F-Prime Capital, Venrock, Alexandria Venture Investments and previous seed investors.
The round attracted strategic investments from the venture arms of some of the world’s largest drug companies: Eli Lilly and Company, Bristol Myers Squibb and Johnson & Johnson Innovation, another indication of the major drug companies’ interest in the clinical feasibility of the SonoThera platform.
For over a decade, the commercialisation of gene therapies has relied almost exclusively on modified viruses, primarily adeno-associated viruses (AAVs), to deliver therapeutic genetic material into a patient’s cells. While highly effective at cellular entry, viral vectors carry steep operational and clinical baggage.
The production of recombinant AAV1 at scale may be prohibitively slow and costly. AAV-based therapies in clinical settings risk provoking immune and inflammatory responses, precluding reapplication if therapeutic activity later declines. Viral vectors cannot transport large or complex sequences due to their limited payload capacity.
SonoThera is disrupting this model with a fully non-viral delivery platform that pairs microbubble technology with focused ultrasound. Rather than employing a virus, the company loads a broad spectrum of genetic payloads: DNA, RNA and gene editing. complexes within microbubbles. Upon IV injection, these microbubbles flow benignly through the blood.
The real magic happens when clinicians apply localised ultrasound waves directly to the target organ. Once the microbubbles have entered the sound field, the incident ultrasound pressure wave causes the microbubbles to rapidly oscillate in size, or stable cavitate.
This mechanical activity leads to a temporary, microscopic rupture of the walls of the blood vessels and the cell membranes around them, a process known as sonoporation. Doctors inject the genetic payload directly into the intended tissue at millimetre precision, avoiding harm to healthy organs.
Stopping the ultrasound causes cell membranes to rapidly reseal, trapping the payload inside. “The promise of genetic medicine has long been throttled by the vehicles we use to deliver it,” said Kenneth Greenberg, PhD, co-founder and CEO of SonoThera. “Our ultrasound-guided platform allows us to bypass the liver-heavy filtering that destroys most non-viral therapies, directing the treatment exactly where it is needed.”
The $125 million influx of capital is earmarked to transition SonoThera from a preclinical discovery platform into a robust clinical-stage development enterprise. The primary objectives for the funds include:
Because the system relies on standard diagnostic ultrasound hardware paired with proprietary transducers, it integrates seamlessly into existing hospital infrastructures, offering the long-term potential to deliver highly advanced gene therapies in standard outpatient clinical settings.
-Venturn Burn