Israeli MedTech Start-up, Alpha Tau Medical, Raises $29 Million in Private Financing to Cure Cancer

TEL AVIV, Israel, Sept. 5, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Alpha Tau Medical, developer of a breakthrough alpha radiation cancer therapy, announced today that it has secured $29 million in private financing. The funding round was led by Shavit Capital, an Israeli private equity firm that specializes in funding late stage investments and joined by leading global equity crowdfunding platform, OurCrowd.com, as well as Medison Ventures, the Venture Capital arm of Medison Pharma. Besides current investors, further significant private investors contributed to the funding round including the preeminent international social impact VC and private equity investors, Sir Ronald Cohen and Alan Patricof, the founders of Apax Partners.

"We are excited by the strong support provided by these distinguished investors," said Uzi Sofer, Alpha Tau's CEO. "The funding will be invaluable to explore the full potential of the Alpha DaRT as a cancer treatment for clinical trials worldwide, as well as establish global production facilities for the radioactive DaRT seeds to meet local distribution demand."

Alpha DaRT (D?ffus?ng Alpha-em?tters Rad?at?on Therapy) enables the first alpha-radiation-based cancer treatment for various types of solid tumors. It delivers high-precision alpha radiation, that is released when radioactive substances decay inside the tumor. The short-range alpha particles effectively kill the cancer cells while sparing the surrounding healthy tissue. Preliminary clinical results showed that Alpha DaRT is safe and effective for treating squamous cell carcinoma tumors, with all patients' tumor sizes reducing and more than 70% of patients' tumors completely disappearing within a few days after treatment. Watch the video.

"We are confident that Alpha Tau's ground-breaking technology can be a game changer in the treatment of cancer. Importantly, under the guidance of an experienced management team, the company has already achieved strategic relationships and trials with leading international medical research centers and is positioned to become a world leader in the development of next-generation radiation oncology therapies," said Gary Leibler, founder and managing partner of Shavit Capital.

Meir Jakobsohn, the Founder and CEO of Medison Pharma, which was one of the first investors in Alpha Tau through its investment arm Medison Ventures, said "We are delighted at Alpha Tau's rapid development of this important treatment, and are very optimistic about the Alpha DaRT's potential to activate the immune system and to become a valid treatment option for metastatic cancer."

The company has started clinical trials with leading research centers throughout the world to investigate Alpha DaRT as a treatment for cancer using different protocols across a variety of indications, including:

• Pancreatic cancer
• Breast cancer
• Head and neck cancer
• Gynecological cancer
• Prostate cancer

Alpha Tau has already established subsidiaries in the USA and Japan and is in the process of forming further collaborations, to enable optimized local distribution and manufacturing of the Alpha DaRT cancer treatment.

About Alpha Tau Medical

Founded in 2016, Alpha Tau Medical is focusing on R&D and commercialization of its breakthrough cancer treatment, Alpha DaRT. The DaRT technology was invented in 2003 by Prof. Itzhak Kelson and Prof. Yona Keisari from the Tel Aviv University and was originally patented by Ramot, the Business Engagement Center of Tel Aviv University that became a shareholder of Alpha Tau Medical. Until the establishment of Alpha Tau Medical, the DaRT development was supported by private investors, including Leonard Gordon who initially identified the technology's potential. The company collaborates with key cancer physicians and researchers worldwide to investigate the Alpha DaRT as a treatment for various indications. For more information, please visit www.alphatau.com. 

About Shavit Capital

Shavit Capital is a private equity firm that specializes in late-stage investments in Israeli and Israel-related companies. Shavit Capital manages five funds with approximately $400 million under management and is supported by leading financial institutions from America, Europe, Asia and Israel. For more information, please visit www.shavitcapital.com. 

About OurCrowd.com

OurCrowd.com is a global equity crowdfunding platform enabling accredited investors to join investment opportunities alongside VCs and institutional co-investors, at the same terms. For more information, please visit www.ourcrowd.com. 

About Medison Ventures

Medison Ventures is the investment and scouting arm of Medison Pharma, an exclusive Israeli partner for global healthcare companies. Medison Ventures, with its dedicated research and evaluation team, builds deal flow sourcing platforms dedicated to identifying and investing in cutting-edge healthcare innovations.

Contact: 
Uzi Sofer
+972-52-5555518
[email protected]

SOURCE Alpha Tau Medical