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Medtech startup Ceretas has secured the licence to commercialise a promising ultrasound therapy developed at The University of Queensland that could potentially restore brain function in people with Alzheimer's disease.
Ceretas plans to progress the therapeutic ultrasound technology, developed by dementia specialist Professor Jürgen Götz from UQ's Queensland Brain Institute, towards clinical use with the company aiming to validate the system to treat several neurodegenerative diseases.
The technology uses targeted pressure waves from sound to activate the brain's ability to increase neuronal signalling and clear pathological proteins that accumulate in people with Alzheimer's disease.
"The therapy increases neuronal signalling and thereby restores memory and cognition by enhancing communication between brain cells," says Götz.
"But it also targets and clears the build-up of the proteins toxic amyloid and tau by activating the brain's intrinsic clearance mechanism."
The incidence of dementia globally is forecast to reach 82 million by 2030 with an estimated 80 per cent of people with dementia having Alzheimer's, characterised by cognitive impairment and memory loss.
Götz says current medications target disease progression and symptoms but don't offer patients a cure.
"Therapeutic ultrasound offers a non-invasive way of enhancing cognition," he says.
"The treatment could also potentially be personalised across multiple neurological disorders including frontotemporal dementia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, disorders caused by brain tumours and mental disorders."
The UQ research team completed the first human clinical safety trial for the novel ultrasound medical device this year, led by QBI clinician-researcher Professor Peter Nestor. The human trial results are expected to be published in early 2025.
The findings of the ultrasound method are challenging conventional Alzheimer’s disease research that targets amyloid plaque on the brain to improve cognition.
Amyloid plaques comprise clumps of protein that can build up in the brain over time and block communication between brain cells.
While other research has focused on opening the blood-brain barrier with microbubbles, the UQ research has found significant memory enhancement by scanning ultrasound alone on mouse models.
Ceretas was formed by UQ's commercialisation company UniQuest in partnership with early-stage investors and co-founders Ryan Laws and Sam Wetzler.
"It's not often that you see potentially game-changing technology coupled with brilliant people, looking to address a market that only seems set to expand so this opportunity has me very excited," says Laws.
UniQuest CEO Dr Dean Moss describes the progression of the therapeutic ultrasound technology to the clinic with investor backing as “gratifying”.
"With an ageing population leading to an increase in neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's, it is testament to the quality of UQ research that potential new treatments are attracting investment to make a genuine difference," he says.
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