Ceretas secures $1m for breakthrough ultrasound therapy for dementia, eyes potential IPO
Australian MedTech company Ceretas has successfully secured $1 million in seed funding to advance its low-cost, portable and non-invasive ultrasound device aimed at treating dementia and other neurological conditions.
This funding positions the company closer to a potential IPO as it progresses through clinical research and regulatory steps.
Initial capital raise fuels development
The recent seed capital round was led by Ryan Laws from Caravel Securities – who is also a co-founder of EMVision Medical Devices (ASX: EMV) – and Sam Wetzler, head of Sequoia Asset Management, part of Sequoia Financial Group (ASX: SEQ).
Both Laws and Wetzler are co-founders and directors of Ceretas.
“The feedback from investors has been very encouraging,” Mr Laws said.
“We received significant interest in the technology and its huge potential, both societally and commercially, leading us to accept oversubscriptions and raise a total of $1m.”
Strong donor support
Mr Wetzler noted the strong support from donors who had previously contributed to the project through the Queensland Brain Institute (QBI).
“A number of individuals from the philanthropic community who have generously donated to QBI for this therapeutic ultrasound project over the last decade chose to participate in this capital round, demonstrating their continued belief in the technology’s potential,” he said.
Peter Johnstone, chief executive officer of the Clem Jones Foundation, is one such long-term supporter, “The initial $2 million donation provided by the Clem Jones Foundation 15 years ago to kickstart the dementia research work at QBI and our ongoing contributions have been leveraged to attract other support from the Queensland and federal governments as well as other philanthropic backing,”
Limited success of current therapies
Dementia is one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide, with current approved therapies showing limited success.
Someone is diagnosed with the disease every three seconds, with Alzheimer’s cases accounting for 60–70% of all dementia diagnoses.
The Ceretas device addresses major limitations in current neurological treatments that are often invasive, restricted in reach or unable to effectively deliver therapeutics across the blood-brain barrier.
The device stimulates neural circuits to enhance brain function, providing an alternative to traditional neuromodulation techniques that require surgery or cannot target the deeper brain regions.
Potential ‘door-opener’
“Developing ultrasound as a treatment, built upon our preclinical and clinical work, has me very excited,” said Professor Jürgen Götz, a world-renowned leader in Alzheimer’s research and the lead inventor of the company’s technology.
“My hope is that our approach will be a door-opener for the many diseases that affect the brain, be it at advanced stages or a younger age.”
The technology can also be used to temporarily open the blood-brain barrier to clear harmful protein aggregates, such as amyloid plaques and tau tangles associated with Alzheimer’s, while also enabling targeted and effective drug delivery, overcoming the challenge of delivering many therapeutics that would otherwise be blocked from reaching the brain.
Major leap forward
Current estimates suggest that 98% of neurological drugs cannot cross the blood-brain barrier, potentially making this capability a major leap forward in the therapeutic drug landscape.
Ceretas chief executive officer Dr Rachel de las Heras – who has spent more than seven years overseeing the program at QBI – believes the company has a real opportunity to impact the disease trajectory on a global scale.
“Preclinical rodent studies have shown restoration of brain function, including memory and cognition,” Dr de las Heras said.
“If this translates into humans, we have a chance to reduce the burden of dementia and potentially address other neurological disorders such as depression.”
Fully funded clinical trial
Following a decade of R&D investment totalling approximately $20 million, recent in-human safety studies have enabled a feasibility trial this year. In August 2023, the Queensland government announced $5m in funding for this program, which will see the rollout of the scanning ultrasound trial in the regions.
Led by the University of Queensland, the trial will explore neuromodulation for treating behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), with patient recruitment across multiple sites. Ceretas stands to gain valuable insights from this novel Alzheimer’s therapy.
Experienced entrepreneur Dr Tony Keating – who was the co-founder and CEO of ResApp Health, which was acquired by Pfizer in 2022 – recently joined the Ceretas board as an executive director to help drive the company’s commercial and capital markets strategy.
“Ceretas has all the ingredients for a highly successful startup: breakthrough technology built on years of cutting-edge scientific research, a huge global market opportunity and a top-tier team,” Dr Keating said.
“Now spun out, we can accelerate our clinical and commercial development to get this technology to patients faster.”