Paris, July 24th, 2014 - THERACLION (Alternext, FR0010120402 - ALTHE, PEA PME eligible), a company specialized in cutting-edge medical devices for echotherapy, has obtained €900,000 of financial backing in the form of a repayable advance from Bpifrance, the French public investment bank, to support its TUCE project which is being run in collaboration with SuperSonic Imagine (Euronext: SSI FR0010526814, PEA-PME eligible).
This new funding grant recognizes the success of the first four stages of the TUCE project and unblocks finance for the key stage five.
The TUCE project is seeking to develop a medical system that can ablate benign tumours such as breast fibroadenomas and thyroid nodules without the need for invasive treatment. It uses high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) guided by SuperSonic Imagine’s innovative imaging technology, which monitors the changes in treated tissue.
The project, launched in May 2009, is led by Theraclion with SuperSonic Imagine as partner. SuperSonic Imagine is an innovative medical imaging company which has developed a new generation ultrasound diagnostic imaging device, called Aixplorer®. Based on a unique imaging technology, their system improves detection and classification of lesions by measuring tissue stiffness in real time coupled with exceptionally high-quality morphological images.
“The “Industrial Strategic Innovation” program is there to support French companies and promote the emergence of European champions. Theraclion’s TUCE project is a perfect fit for this ambition. We are delighted, today, to renew our support for Theraclion, which is developing an innovative medical system to treat tumors non-invasively, an area where demand is very high,” said Nicole Tannières, Head of the Collaborative Programs and Technology Transfer Department at Bpifrance.
Jean-Yves Burel, Chairman of Theraclion added: “We are pleased and grateful to Bpifrance for continuing to support our project with this additional €900 thousand in finance. Their renewed confidence testifies to the innovative nature of our project. Our collaboration on the TUCE project with SuperSonic Imagine, a company we have been working with for several years now, is a real opportunity to deliver a new generation of devices that can offer alternatives to surgery and mini-invasive techniques that are more effective, simpler to use and less costly. If we succeed, we can bring this new system to market from 2017.”
About SuperSonic Imagine
Founded in 2005 and based in Aix-en-Provence (France), SuperSonic Imagine is a company specializing in medical imaging. The company designs, develops and markets a revolutionary ultrasound system, Aixplorer®, with an UltraFast™ platform that can acquire images 200 times faster than conventional ultrasound systems. Aixplorer® is the only system that can image two types of waves: ultrasound waves ensure excellent image quality and shear waves, which allow physicians to visualize and analyze the stiffness of tissue in a real-time, reliable, reproducible and non-invasive manner. This innovation, ShearWave™ Elastography, significantly improves the detection and characterization of numerous pathologies in several applications including breast, thyroid, liver and prostate. SuperSonic Imagine has been granted regulatory clearances for the commercialization of Aixplorer® in the main global markets. Over the past years, SuperSonic Imagine enjoyed the backing of several prestigious investors, among which Auriga Partners, Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners, Bpifrance, Omnes Capital and NBGI.
For more information about SuperSonic Imagine, please go to www.supersonicimagine.com
About Theraclion
Based in Malakoff, near Paris, Theraclion is a French company specialized in cutting-edge medical devices for echotherapy. Theraclion designs, develops and markets a medical device (Echopulse®) that combines advanced ultrasound imaging and HIFU therapy. Theraclion is ISO 13485 certified and has received the CE mark for non-invasive ablation of breast fibroadenomas and thyroid nodules. A full 70% of its 19-strong team are dedicated to R&D and clinical trials. For more information visit www.theraclion.com
Contacts:
Theraclion
Sarah Ankri
CFO
Tel.: +33 (0)1 55 48 90 70
sarah.ankri@theraclion.com
ALIZE RP
Press Relations
Caroline Carmagnol / Valentine Boivin
Tel.: + 33 (0)1 70 22 53 93
theraclion@alizerp.com
NewCap.
Financial Communications & Investors relations
Emmanuel Huynh / Sophie Boulila
Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 91
theraclion@newcap.fr
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