Continuity Biosciences Acquires Focal Medical to Advance Targeted Drug Delivery for Pancreatic Cancer
BRADENTON, Fla., June 4, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Continuity Biosciences, LLC, a developer of advanced drug delivery technologies, announced today the acquisition of Focal Medical, Inc., a North Carolina-based biopharmaceutical company pioneering site-specific chemotherapy using iontophoresis. The acquisition represents a key step in Continuity's strategy to become a leader in device targeted therapeutics for intractable solid tumors.
Founded by leading scientists and clinicians, Focal Medical has developed a proprietary platform that delivers chemotherapy directly to tumors using iontophoresis—this minimally-invasive technique utilizes a mild electrical current to drive therapeutic compounds into targeted tissues. This method enhances local drug concentration while minimizing systemic toxicity, a critical need in the treatment of pancreatic and other solid-tissue cancers.
Focal Medical's lead product candidate, an iontophoresis device directed gemcitabine therapy for pancreatic cancer, has been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) through an Investigational New Drug (IND) application. Phase 1b clinical trials are expected to begin later this year.
"This is a transformative milestone for Continuity Biosciences," said Ramakrishna Venugopalan, PhD, MBA, Chief Executive Officer of Continuity Biosciences. "Focal Medical's approach to localized drug delivery aligns perfectly with our vision to improve bioavailability, reduce systemic exposure, and deliver better outcomes for patients. We are thrilled to bring this promising platform into our portfolio and into the clinic."
Through the acquisition, Continuity Biosciences obtains Focal Medical's entire patent estate, iontophoresis technology platform and specialized equipment, scientific know-how, and licensing agreements with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In addition, key scientific staff and leadership from Focal will join Continuity, further enhancing its internal capabilities. A dedicated research and development facility in Cary, NC that supports ongoing platform and pipeline advancement is also part of the acquisition and will be expanded to support other delivery platforms.
Visionary Founders Driving the Innovation
Focal Medical was co-founded by:
Jen Jen Yeh, MD, a surgical oncologist and professor at UNC-Chapel Hill with joint appointments in Surgery and Pharmacology. She serves as assistant dean of translational research in UNC School of Medicine and associate director of translational research in UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Yeh is widely recognized for her expertise in pancreatic cancer and translational oncology.
Joseph DeSimone, PhD, an award-winning chemist, entrepreneur, and academic, currently serving as the Sanjiv Sam Gambhir Professor of Translational Medicine and Chemical Engineering at Stanford University. He is globally known for his breakthroughs in materials science, nanomedicine, and advanced manufacturing, including 3D printing.
Their iontophoresis system is designed to deliver gemcitabine, an FDA-approved chemotherapy agent, directly into pancreatic tumors. Traditional systemic administration of gemcitabine is often limited by poor tumor penetration and significant toxicity. Focal's approach bypasses those limitations by delivering the drug directly to the tumor site with high precision and minimal systemic toxicity.
"After nearly a decade of R&D, we are excited to join the Continuity Biosciences family," said Tony Voiers, Acting CEO of Focal Medical. "We are grateful to our founders, scientific collaborators, and investors who have helped us reach this pivotal point. Partnering with Continuity ensures that this novel therapy moves forward into the clinic where it has the potential to help patients facing one of the deadliest cancers."
This acquisition reinforces Continuity Biosciences' commitment to building a diverse portfolio of clinically meaningful drug delivery platforms and signals a decisive move toward becoming a clinical-stage leader in site-specific therapy.
About Continuity BiosciencesContinuity Biosciences, LLC is a biopharmaceutical company developing advanced drug delivery technologies that address the limitations of conventional therapeutic administration. With operations in Bradenton, FL; Houston, TX; Raleigh, NC; and Torino, Italy, the company focuses on combination drug-device platforms for chronic and complex conditions.Visit: www.continuitybiosciences.com
About Focal MedicalFocal Medical, Inc. develops energy-based chemotherapy delivery systems that enable direct application of drugs to tumor sites. Its mission is to improve efficacy and reduce toxicity in the treatment of solid tumors, with an initial focus on pancreatic cancer.Visit: www.focalmedical.co
SOURCE Continuity Biosciences LLC
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Eastern WA researchers fight cyber threats at aging U.S. hydropower system
Washington generates more hydroelectricity than any other state, so it is fitting that research to protect the critical infrastructure responsible for generating this power is happening right here in the Tri-Cities, at the Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. Researchers at PNNL are combining their knowledge of the hydropower system and expertise in cybersecurity to secure the operational technology of the nation's hydropower fleet. Their work to protect these facilities helps ensure the continued generation of affordable electricity that powers our homes and factories. It also safeguards a key source of dispatchable power — generation that can be ramped up and down as needed to balance supply and demand — that enhances grid reliability and resilience. The federally managed hydropower projects have an average age of about 65 years, so researchers tasked with protecting them must bridge the past to the future. Efforts to adapt aging systems to thwart today's constantly evolving cyber threats include developing a suite of cybersecurity tools, an operational training model and a monitoring system. To make it easier for operators who may need to respond to and recover from a cyber incident, researchers assembled and integrated guidance from several agencies and created a cyber-physical framework and roadmap for the nation's entire fleet. They also prepared and shared a step-by-step desk guide for navigating a cyberattack. Fundamental to this work was an assessment of the connections and interactions among the cyber and physical components at hydropower facilities of all kinds. By studying a representative sample of plants with a wide range of ages and uses, researchers found that they could be binned into just nine distinct cyber-physical configurations. This allows operators to more easily identify shared risks and potential mitigations. In a separate effort to train cybersecurity professionals working on critical infrastructure, PNNL researchers developed a series of test platforms. These platforms, known as skids, are scaled-down, functional models that enable realistic exercises without putting real infrastructure at risk. Examples of PNNL-developed skids include models of a water treatment facility, the Class 1 freight rail network and a hydropower plant. Each can be 'attacked' by cyber means to explore vulnerabilities and mitigation strategies. The hydropower skid and associated training scenarios were designed with input from regional hydropower plant operators, including Spokane-based Avista Corporation and Grant County Public Utility District. Complete with wicket gates, turbines and other components needed to generate power, as well as small, representative industrial control systems, the skid allows operators to see the effects of unauthorized cyber access and learn how to manage the risk. Trainees can watch water levels above and below the miniature dam as the control systems undergo a simulated cyberattack. They can monitor relays in the substation that might trip, watch for flooding or erosion and see how the power grid responds. They also get a firsthand look at how their simulated responses impact the system. PNNL's support in protecting hydropower plants also extends to an award-winning technology called SerialTap. This palm-sized device serves as a data collector, allowing modern network cybersecurity tools to monitor dispersed serial communication devices and legacy industrial control systems. SerialTap makes it possible to detect cyberattacks and network anomalies so that analysts and operators can respond more quickly and effectively. The technology will be tested by a commercial partner whose affiliate companies own and operate 85 hydroelectric facilities in the United States. As the complexity and connectedness of the critical infrastructure we depend on for a strong economy increase, so does the risk of cyber threats with higher consequences. Experts at PNNL are developing novel approaches to protect, detect and recover from potential cyberattacks at the hydroelectric facilities that produce nearly 6 percent of the nation's total electricity — and more than 60 percent of the power generated in the great state of Washington. Steven Ashby is director of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Japanese Lunar Lander Crashes In Second Failed Mission
A private Japanese lunar lander crashed during an attempted touchdown on the moon Friday. This marks the second failed mission for the Tokyo-based global lunar exploration company, ispace. The lander, named Resilience, lost communication less than two minutes before its scheduled landing in Mare Frigoris, a flat, crater-filled region on the moon's northern near side. A preliminary analysis indicated the laser system for measuring altitude malfunctioned, causing the lander to descend too fast. 'Based on these circumstances, it is currently assumed that the lander likely performed a hard landing on the lunar surface,' ispace said in a statement. 'This is the second time that we were not able to land. So we really have to take it very seriously,' CEO and founder Takeshi Hakamada told reporters, per Associated Press. He apologized to contributors and added that the mission was 'merely a stepping stone' to a larger lander planned for 2027 with NASA involvement. 'Engineers did everything they possibly could' to ensure success, he said minutes before the attempted landing. The 7.5-foot Resilience, launched in January from Florida on a SpaceX rocket, carried an 11-pound, four-wheeled rover named Tenacious, built by ispace's Luxembourg subsidiary. The rover, equipped with a high-definition camera and a shovel for NASA to collect lunar soil, was designed to operate for two weeks during the moon's daylight period. It also carried a toy-size Swedish-style red cottage, dubbed Moonhouse by artist Mikael Genberg, for placement on the lunar surface. The mission's $16 million payload included scientific instruments from Japanese firms and a Taiwanese university. The failure follows ispace's first lunar crash in 2023, caused by inaccurate altitude readings. 'Truly diverse scenarios were possible, including issues with the propulsion system, software or hardware, especially with sensors,' Chief Technology Officer Ryo Ujiie said at a press conference. Jeremy Fix, chief engineer for ispace's U.S. subsidiary, noted last month that the company, with a mission cost less than the first's $100 million, lacks 'infinite funds' and cannot afford repeated failures. 'We're not facing any immediate financial deterioration or distress because of the event,' CFO Jumpei Nozaki said, citing investor support. However, space shares faced heavy sell orders and were poised for a 29% drop. As of Thursday, their market capitalization was over 110 billion yen ($766 million). The crash marks another setback in the commercial lunar race, which began in 2019. U.S. firms Firefly Aerospace and Intuitive Machines achieved successful landings in March, though Intuitive's lander toppled in a crater. Japan's space agency, JAXA, landed its SLIM probe last year, joining Russia, the U.S., China, and India as the only nations with successful robotic lunar landings. 'Expectations for ispace have not faded,' Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba posted on X, reported Reuters. Ispace remains committed to NASA's Artemis program, with plans for a third mission in 2027. 'NASA increasingly needs private companies to improve cost efficiency for key missions with limited budgets,' Hakamada said, referencing proposed U.S. budget cuts. Two U.S. companies, Blue Origin and Astrobotic Technology, aim for moon landings by year's end following Astrobotic's 2024 failure.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
London must ‘market its successes better' to avoid another Wise
Britain must emulate the success of Nasdaq and get better at trumpeting its business success stories if it wants to attract more companies to list in London, one of the UK's top fintech venture capital investors has said. Speaking to City AM the day that payments darling Wise revealed plans to ditch its primary listing for New York, Anthemis founder Amy Nauiokas said the London Stock Exchange (LSE) should try emulate the support promotion the US's tech-heavy bourse gives its new constituents. 'It's not brain surgery,' said Nauiokas, whose firm has been an early-stage backer of fintech success stories like Etoro, Zoopla and Tide. 'They [the LSE] need to promise UK entrepreneurs that there's a path here, and that they'll support them, build an ecosystem around them, and give the perks that the Nasdaq gives them.' London capital markets have been locked in a multi-year struggle to attract and retain some of its brightest companies. Since the start of 2024 alone, cherished listed firms like Darktrace, TUI and most DS Smith have all delisted or been taken private from the capital's stock market. And promising UK-headquartered scale-ups like Arm have opted to list in New York over London, with other darlings like Revolut and Klarna looking likely to follow suit. Departed firms have tended to cite London's stubbornly low valuations and lower liquidity relative to its US rivals, but Nauiokas argued that the lengths to which New York goes to promote and celebrate its new additions was just as important a factor. Commenting on the Nasdaq's custom of advertising its fresh listings in New York's Time Square, she said: 'Half the reason why people go there is so they get to see their their picture on 45th Street.' Her comments ring true with the rationale for ditching London given by Wise, which floated in the UK to great fanfare in 2021. Billionaire cofounder Kristo Kaarmannder said a US listing would help raise Wise's profile in the country as it joins the many London-based fintech giants looking to expand their services in the world's largest market. 'We believe the addition of a primary US listing would help us accelerate our mission and bring substantial strategic and capital market benefits to Wise and our owners,' he said in the firm's statement announcing its planned departure. Nauiokas, whose firm invests in start-ups in both the US and UK with offices in both New York and London, said she understood the Wise board's decision, adding that were she a secondary capital and pre-IPO dealmaker, she 'would probably say the best option right now was either a dual listing or a US-based IPO'. But despite the downbeat rhetoric surrounding the London Stock Exchange, she added that the ongoing political turmoil in America was something on which London – and Europe as a whole – should be poised to capitalise. 'It strikes me that all the opportunity is here [in London],' she said. 'This is a moment. A moment for investors to find great entrepreneurs and make money, but also a moment for regulatory navel gazing – government navel gazing – private partnership navel gazing – to say we could do something here. Let's do something.' Family offices and institutional money are increasingly looking to reduce the weighting of US assets in their portfolio in response to the capricious and unpredictable policy directives from the White House, Nauiokas said. Many ultra-rich families have re-weighted their portfolios from an '80/20 North America to Europe to now 50/50'. 'I'm super excited about the UK specifically. But it needs to take this moment of market geopolitical dislocation,' she said, adding: 'The LSE can do a much better job of reshaping its proposition, and the government needs to get rid of stamp duty on shares.' Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
