From the April 2017 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine
With promising early results from this trial suggesting the feasibility and safety of opening the BBB, and building on preclinical results, a pilot clinical trial for treatment of Alzheimer’s is being organized. The trial design was a collaborative effort led by the Foundation and included members of industry, scientists and clinicians from several academic sites, government and representatives from patient groups. This safety and feasibility trial should begin this year, and successful results could lead to follow-on trials investigating the efficacy of focused ultrasound with and without drugs to treat or slow the progression of Alzheimer’s.
Pre-clinical evidence is mounting demonstrating that focused ultrasound can enhance the immune response to cancer and/ or enhance the effects of promising cancer immunotherapies such as checkpoint inhibitors. In the near future, the first clinical trial testing focused ultrasound in combination with immunotherapy should begin. If successful, this study could open the door to a promising new combination approach in the treatment of advanced cancer.
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The Foundation has helped to advance this burgeoning field, in part, through partnering with other organizations including the Cancer Research Institute. To understand the results of early clinical trials and to inform the design of future trials, the field still needs to answer key questions about the different bioeffects (parameters, mechanism of action) of focused ultrasound.
To move the field forward, the Foundation has established multi-site consortia to investigate the impact of different FUS modalities on the immune response in models of glioblastoma (aggressive and malignant brain tumor), breast cancer and melanoma. By convening world-class experts from around the globe, we are able to benefit from a streamlined, collective approach. Consortia can improve research quality while drastically reducing the project timeline, allowing the group to rapidly gain critical information needed to develop robust focused ultrasound immunologic therapies.
We are in an unprecedented position to employ collaboration to drive medical innovation beyond any foreseeable limit. Digital channels and technological advances have created a world that is constantly connected, where data from one laboratory is globally accessible in a matter of seconds. When we realize that collaboration is itself the tipping point, we can envision better care and outcomes for patients around the world.
About the author: Jessica L. Foley, Ph.D., is the chief scientific officer of the Focused Ultrasound Foundation. Dr. Foley joined the Foundation in 2012 after completing a one-year AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellowship at the National Science Foundation. Prior to that, she was the neuro projects manager and clinical marketing manager at INSIGHTEC, one of the pioneering focused ultrasound medical device manufacturers. Her experience also includes senior scientist at Medtronic. She has numerous publications, patents and presentations at academic conferences in the field of focused ultrasound. She holds a BSE in biomedical engineering from Duke University and a Ph.D. in bioengineering from the University of Washington.Back to HCB News
