Israeli radiation therapy firm Alpha Tau raises $29 mln

TEL AVIV: Alpha Tau Medical, an Israeli developer of alpha radiation cancer therapy, said on Wednesday it raised $29 million in a private financing round led by private equity firm Shavit Capital.

Equity crowdfunding platform OurCrowd.com and Medison Ventures, the venture capital arm of Medison Pharma, also joined in the round as did Ronald Cohen and Alan Patricof, the founders of Apax Partners.

The company said its technology delivers high-precision alpha radiation that is released when radioactive substances decay inside the tumour. The short-range alpha particles kill cancer cells while sparing surrounding healthy tissue, it said.

Preliminary clinical results showed the radiation is safe and effective, with all patients' tumour sizes reducing and more than 70 percent of patients' tumours completely disappearing within a few days after treatment.

The company has started clinical trials with leading research centres around the world.