BRACCO IMAGING S.p.A. ANNOUNCES A NEW AGREEMENT WITH SONOTHERA™ TO EXPLORE THE EMERGING FIELD OF ULTRASOUND-GUIDED NONVIRAL GENE THERAPY

GENEVA, April 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Bracco Imaging S.p.A., a global leader in diagnostic imaging, and SonoThera, Inc., a biotechnology company dedicated to treating the root cause of human diseases through genetic therapy, have entered into an agreement under which Bracco Imaging will provide its cutting-edge gas-filled microbubbles technology platform to SonoThera for use in the development of its novel, ultrasound-guided nonviral gene therapy platform.

"We are delighted to have signed this new agreement with SonoThera," said Thierry Bettinger, Ph.D., Director of Bracco Research Center in Geneva. "The combination of Bracco's innovative gas microbubbles platform with SonoThera's ongoing development of a nonviral gene delivery platform will undoubtedly advance development in this novel approach to gene therapy."

As part of this new agreement, Bracco Imaging will grant SonoThera a non-exclusive license to use Bracco's microbubble for Research purposes.

"SonoThera is pleased to partner with a leader in microbubble development and commercialization such as Bracco," said Kenneth Greenberg, Ph.D., Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of SonoThera. "As we develop a new generation of genetic therapies, important collaborations such as this make it possible to find alternative pathways to viral vectors, potentially increasing safety and efficacy."

The combination of ultrasound energy with microbubble allows transient permeability of vessel walls and cell membranes to enable the delivery of therapeutic nucleic acid payloads.  The agreement will allow SonoThera to fully explore the potential of this innovative approach to facilitate the safe and effective delivery of various genetic materials to target cells/organs with minimal off-target delivery.

Bracco Imaging is a ground-breaking player in the field of microbubbles. This is demonstrated by the worldwide marketing of contrast-enhanced ultrasound products and the ongoing research and development (R&D) programs to further exploit the potential of microbubbles for new applications in molecular imaging and therapy. To enable the translation of these new projects into products, significant investment has been brought to the site of Bracco Suisse SA in Geneva, particularly to increase the production capacity of these different agents.

Bracco Imaging S.p.A., part of the Bracco Group, is a world-leading diagnostic imaging provider. Headquartered in Milan, Italy, Bracco Imaging develops, manufactures, and markets diagnostic imaging agents and solutions. It offers a product and solution portfolio for all key diagnostic imaging modalities: X-ray imaging (including Computed Tomography-CT, Interventional Radiology, and Cardiac Catheterization), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Contrast Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS), and Nuclear Medicine through radioactive tracers and novel PET imaging agents to inform clinical management and guide care for cancer patients in areas of unmet medical need. Our continually evolving portfolio is completed by a range of medical devices, advanced administration systems, and dose-management software. In 2019 Bracco Imaging enriched its product portfolio by expanding the range of oncology nuclear imaging solutions in the urology segment and other specialties with the acquisition of Blue Earth Diagnostics. In 2021, Bracco Imaging established Blue Earth Therapeutics as a separate, cutting-edge biotechnology dedicated to advancing next-generation targeted radiotherapeutics to treat patients who have cancer.  
Visit www.bracco.com to learn more.

Founded by Drs. Kenneth Greenberg, Michael Davidson, and Steve Feinstein, SonoThera, Inc. is a biotechnology company dedicated to treating the root cause of human disease through genetic therapy. SonoThera is developing an ultrasound-guided, nonviral gene therapy platform and treatments designed to provide patients with the next generation of safe and effective genetic medicines. The platform utilizes sonoporation, a microbubble-mediated biophysical process to non-invasively deliver genetic payloads selectively targeting a wide range of organs within the body. SonoThera is headquartered in South San Francisco, California.  
Visit www.sonothera.com to learn more.

Micaela Colamasi
PR Manager
Bracco Imaging S.p.A.
Email: micaela.colamasi@bracco.com
Cell: +39 348 2314362

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