A spinout company from Ulster University is using ultrasound-activated microbubbles to deliver chemotherapy and a reactive oxygen therapy directly into pancreatic tumours, aiming to turn an incurable cancer into a treatable one. Pancreatic cancer is notoriously difficult to treat: only 10–20% of patients qualify for curative surgery, and the remaining 60–80% have advanced or metastatic disease with no curative options. Current chemotherapy causes severe side effects because it attacks healthy cells as well as cancerous ones. SonoTarg’s platform, ST-001, combines a low dose of chemotherapy with sonodynamic therapy—a harmless sensitizer that, when triggered by low-intensity ultrasound, produces toxic reactive oxygen species only at the tumour site. This spares healthy tissue. If this research succeeds, it could offer a safe, effective therapeutic option for metastatic pancreatic cancer, which is currently incurable. The company plans to begin recruiting for a Phase I clinical trial in Q3 2025 with the Belfast Trust. Beyond this single product, the project aims to expand SonoTarg’s platform to other cancers, targeting a global pancreatic cancer therapeutics market valued at $2.99 billion in 2024 and projected to reach $5.35 billion by 2032.
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SonoTarg, a spinout company from Ulster University and based at Coleraine, is exploiting its proprietary ultrasound-responsive microbubble platform for the treatment of pancreatic cancer. The ultrasound-responsive microbubble platform enables the delivery of low dose chemotherapy, in combination with sonodynamic therapy (SDT) to provide highly effective treatment without the adverse effects associated with conventional chemotherapy. The SDT component incorporates a sensitizer that is harmless and when exposed to low intensity ultrasound, generates toxic reactive oxygen species at the target site. SonoTarg is currently planning a Phase I clinical trial for its lead product, ST-001, with the Belfast Trust and this will begin recruiting in Q3 2025\. Pancreatic cancer is one of the most difficult cancers to treat and survival statistics are dismal. The only curative approach is surgery and only 10-20% of patients qualify. ST-001 will significantly enhance survival statistics by using it in a neoadjuvant setting to downstage tumours so that a further 10-20% of patients can qualify for curative surgery. This however leaves 60 -80% of patients with advanced/metastatic disease for which there is no curative option. From our own published work, in-house preliminary data and work published by others, we have started to integrate ST-001 with emerging immuno-oncology to provide a therapeutic solution for treating metastatic pancreatic cancer. This current project builds on our preliminary work, enabling the generation of a data portfolio that will (1) expand and reinforce our existing IP position, (2) provide pathways for strategic partnerships for co-development and (3) support regulatory and clinical trials applications for clinical translation. In addition to providing a pathway for development of a safe and effective therapeutic option for metastatic pancreatic cancer patients, which is currently incurable, the project will enable SonoTarg to expand its product application range and consequently, its target market range. From a market perspective, the pancreatic cancer therapeutics market was valued globally at US$ 2.99 B in 2024 with a projected rise of 7.54% (CAGR) to US$ 5.35 B by 2032\. Our target segment within this (chemotherapy) represents 67% of the overall market. In a marketplace that readily adopts novel, more effective approaches, our ability to target metastatic disease will permit access to a significantly larger proportion of this market segment.
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