Minnesota startup HistoSonics awarded $90 million for tumor-fighting tech at VA

Plymouth-based startup HistoSonics, which created a targeted ultrasound system designed to destroy liver tumors, received a $90 million contract to provide Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals quick access to its technology, the company announced.

HistoSonics, which has privately raised more $300 million, developed a focused ultrasound system that uses pulses to create what it calls a “bubble cloud” that collapses, destroying and liquefying liver tumors, the company said. Chief Executive Mike Blue said the technology, called the Edison Histotripsy System, is the first of its kind.

“We really think one of the benefits is just helping improve the quality of life of veterans by ... sometimes using histotripsy and the Edison System for palliation purposes: to reduce pain, to remove tumor burden and hopefully that all leads to the extension of life,” Blue said.

The contract is the latest boost for the medical-technology company that scored “de novo” clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its histotripsy system in the fall of 2023 after more than a decade of research and years of trials.

The FDA has not yet evaluated the Edison System for the treatment of disease. The contract makes VA hospitals eligible to participate HistoSonics’ prospective study and clinical trial program, the company said. The system will be in use in 40 hospitals by the end of the year, and Blue expects VA hospitals to start acquiring its own systems in 2025.

Veterans suffer from liver cancer at rate that is five times greater than the general United States population, according to the VA. The contract is a five-year agreement that will allow VA hospitals with funding available to immediately acquire Edison Systems, Blue said.

Dr. Michael Kelley, executive director of the Veterans Health Administration’s National Oncology Program, said the histotripsy system aligns with the government’s efforts to improve patients’ quality of life and reduce cancer deaths.

“As the largest integrated oncology provider in the United States, Veterans Affairs remains committed to improving the lives of veterans and supports the goals of collaborative programs like the Cancer Moonshot Initiative,” Kelley said in a news release.

Patients with tumors in their liver do not have many treatment options, Blue said. The Edison System allows patients with no alternatives to noninvasively treat tumors. The body, he said, naturally processes and removes fluid produced by the procedure’s liquefication process.

“The very unique aspect of what we provide in terms of histotripsy and the Edison System is the ability to treat tumors in the liver that otherwise don’t have medical alternatives,” Blue said.

Hospitals have used the system in more than 500 procedures since the spring, Blue said. The technology still needs to achieve success in clinical trials, but the company believes the system can increase longevity and survival rates, Blue said.

The CEO often reminds his employees that a patient walks into a hospital every day, and after the procedure, “there’s new hope that — literally within hours — they’re going to feel much better,” he said.