Visano Theranostics Inc, located in the city of Fairview Park (Cuyahoga County), was awarded $170,000 to commercialize a new imaging approach that uses gas-filled nanobubbles that attach to a protein found on prostate cancer cells during biopsies. These nanobubbles mark dubious tissue during ultrasounds, enabling providers to see tumors more clearly in real time and increase biopsy accuracy. This would improve the process of a conventional ultrasound, which can produce images that are difficult to interpret. 

Visano Theranostics is working to commercialize a new imaging approach that uses gas-filled nanobubbles that attach to a protein found on prostate cancer cells during biopsies. This marks suspicious tissue during ultrasounds to see tumors more clearly in real time and increase biopsy accuracy, the release said.

Case Western Reserve University licenses the technology.

 This investment will help the company conduct experiments that will provide data needed for the pre-investigational new drug (pre-IND) meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Pre-IND meetings are formal meetings usually held during the early stages of a drug development program.
The funding is critical, and it’s going to hopefully allow us to A — get that data and then B — use that information to attract other investors. This acts almost like a good housekeeping seal of approval. So it’s another outside group giving us a vote of confidence.”
With this investment, Visano Theranostics is aiming to have the Pre-IND experiments done by the end of 2025. Once completed, We are hoping to have the pre-IND meeting with the FDA in late 2025 or early 2026 to receive approval for the company’s proposal.
If approved, Visano Theranostics will conduct further experiments over about 12 months while completing concurrent funding. This could position the technology to begin clinical trials by the end of 2026 or early 2027.