Ceretas came out of the Queensland Brain Institute after a decade of research and around $20M of funding.
The trial
12 people with Alzheimer’s in a Brisbane lab. No surgery, no incision, no drug. Low intensity focused ultrasound, through the bone.
What it does
It wakes up the brain’s own cleaning cells, the ones that clear away the sticky plaque that builds up in Alzheimer’s. They are already in there. They have just stopped doing the job.
The bigger idea
Paired with microscopic bubbles, the ultrasound temporarily opens the blood brain barrier. That is the wall that stops almost every drug ever made from reaching the brain. Open it, and drugs that were useless suddenly get through.
The numbers
- Phase 1 came back safe and well tolerated
- Phase 2, with 66 patients, is next
- Listed on the ASX on 23 July, raised $8M at 25c
- Shares more than doubled on debut
The board includes the person who took ResApp Health from a startup to a $180M sale to Pfizer.
My read
It is early and Phase 2 is where most biotech stories get tested. But the hardest problem in medicine might not need a new drug. It might just need a door.