# Alpheus Medical

Source: https://onco.cc/companies/alpheus-medical/  
OnCo record `alpheus-medical` (Company). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from OnCo (onco.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Alpheus Medical is testing a treatment for glioblastoma, a brain cancer, in which the patient swallows a drug that collects in tumour cells and low-intensity ultrasound is then passed through the head to activate it. The treatment is investigational and is in a randomised trial.

## Summary

Alpheus Medical is a private, clinical-stage company in Chanhassen, Minnesota, developing what it calls Porphyrin Metabolite Activation (PoMA), described in the literature as sonodynamic therapy. The patient takes oral 5-aminolevulinic acid (5-ALA), which is metabolised to protoporphyrin IX (PpIX); the company says PpIX accumulates preferentially in malignant glioma cells. Its LIDU low-intensity, defocused ultrasound device is then applied across the affected brain hemisphere to activate the PpIX and produce reactive oxygen species. The company says the therapy is regulated through the FDA's drug framework. It reports completed studies in dogs with spontaneous glioblastoma, a phase 1 study in recurrent high-grade glioma (NCT05362409) and single-treatment and safety lead-in studies in newly diagnosed glioblastoma. A randomised, placebo- and sham-controlled phase 2b trial in newly diagnosed glioblastoma (NCT07225621) began in 2026, and a phase 1 trial in butterfly (bihemispheric) glioblastoma (NCT07862647) opened in October 2026. The company announced FDA Orphan Drug and Fast Track designations in July 2022. Financing it has announced: a $16 million Series A in November 2021 co-led by OrbiMed and Action Potential Venture Capital, a $14 million follow-on in November 2022, and a $52 million Series B in May 2025 co-led by HealthQuest Capital and Samsara BioCapital, with OrbiMed participating.

## Fields

- Kind: Company
- Last checked: 2026-11-04
- Also known as: Alpheus Medical, Inc.; Alpheus
- HQ: Chanhassen, MN
- Type: devices
- Website: https://alpheusmedical.com/

## Notes

- Founding year not stated on the pages read.
- NCT05362409 (phase 1, recurrent high-grade glioma, completed) and NCT07862647 (phase 1, butterfly glioblastoma) are Alpheus-sponsored but have no OnCo trial record; only nct07225621 is linked.
- The device is called LIDU on the current site; the earlier phase 1 registry entry calls it CV01.
- companyType devices chosen because the product is a drug and ultrasound device combination; the company says it is regulated as a drug, so biotech would also be defensible.

## Sources

- Official website: https://alpheusmedical.com/
- Program overview: https://alpheusmedical.com/program-overview/
- About Alpheus: https://alpheusmedical.com/about-us/
- Company news: https://alpheusmedical.com/news/
- Series B release (May 2025): https://alpheusmedical.com/news/alpheus-medical-raises-52m-in-series-b-round-to-advance-groundbreaking-glioblastoma-therapy/
- Phase 2b trial NCT07225621: https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07225621
- OrbiMed portfolio entry: https://www.orbimed.com/portfolio/

## Connected records

- cancers: [Glioma & glioblastoma](https://onco.cc/cancers/glioblastoma/)
- fronts: [Devices & Physical Therapies](https://onco.cc/fronts/devices/)
- technologies: [Sonodynamic therapy](https://onco.cc/technologies/sonodynamic-therapy/)
- drugs: [PoMA sonodynamic therapy](https://onco.cc/drugs/poma-sonodynamic-therapy/)
- trials: [Adjuvant Temozolomide ± 5-Aminolevulinic Acid + Low Intensity Diffuse Ultrasound Sonodynamic Therapy System for Newly Diagnosed Glioblastoma](https://onco.cc/trials/nct07225621/), [Study to Evaluate 5-ALA Combined With CV01 Delivery of Ultrasound in Recurrent High Grade Glioma](https://onco.cc/trials/nct05362409/), [TMZ + RT + 5-ALA + LIDU SDT System for Newly Diagnosed Butterfly Glioma](https://onco.cc/trials/nct07862647/)
- companies: [ACS BrightEdge (American Cancer Society)](https://onco.cc/companies/acs-brightedge/), [OrbiMed](https://onco.cc/companies/orbimed/), [Samsara BioCapital](https://onco.cc/companies/samsara-biocapital/), [SV Health Investors](https://onco.cc/companies/sv-health-investors/)

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