Key Points
- The new company will advance targeted drug delivery in the brain with low-frequency focused ultrasound for blood-brain barrier opening.
- Arjun “JJ” Desai, MD, will move from being chief strategic innovation officer at Insightec to lead Lotus Neuro.
Insightec has launched a new spin-out biotech company, Lotus Neuro, to advance brain-targeted drug delivery using low frequency focused ultrasound. The company will combine Insightec’s existing focused ultrasound platform with new models for advancing therapeutics in neuro-oncology and neurodegenerative conditions.
From a broader perspective, the spin-out is an effort to separate device innovation from therapeutic development in the neuroscience space. Insightec will continue to focus on improving and commercializing its core ultrasound technology while Lotus Neuro tries to more effectively bridge that technology with medicines designed to cross the blood-brain barrier.
Insightec’s CEO, Maurice R. Ferré, MD, elaborated, “Together, we are building a complete ecosystem, from device to drug delivery, to change what’s possible in neuroscience.”
Lotus Neuro is backed by Nexus NeuroTech Ventures and will be led by Arjun “JJ” Desai, MD, who was formerly chief strategic innovation officer at Insightec.