Acusphere

About Acusphere

Acusphere, Inc. operated as a specialty pharmaceutical company, established in 1993 by co-founders Sherri C. Oberg and the prolific inventor Dr. Robert S. Langer. Initially known as Polymers For Medicine, Inc., the company rebranded to Acusphere in March 2004. The firm's strategic focus was on developing and commercializing cardiovascular drugs by utilizing its proprietary microparticle technology. Sherri Oberg, with a background in venture capital, took the helm as President and CEO, steering the company from its inception. Her decision to lead the startup was a significant risk, leaving a career in venture capital for a company with promising technology but facing technical and financial hurdles. Dr. Langer, an esteemed MIT professor and pioneer in drug delivery systems and tissue engineering, provided the foundational scientific expertise.

The company's business model centered on the development and eventual sale or licensing of pharmaceutical products. Acusphere went public with an IPO on October 8, 2003, and over its lifetime, it raised more than $300 million in financing through various channels, including venture capital and public equity. Its primary market was cardiovascular diagnostics, aiming to provide a safer alternative to existing methods. The company's lead product candidate was Imagify (perflubutane polymer microspheres), an injectable suspension designed as an ultrasound contrast agent for detecting coronary artery disease. Imagify was intended to enable ultrasound to serve as a radiation-free and cost-effective substitute for nuclear stress testing, a dominant procedure in cardiac stress imaging.

The journey for Imagify involved a lengthy and ultimately unsuccessful regulatory process with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). After submitting a New Drug Application (NDA) in April 2008, an FDA advisory committee voted against its approval in December 2008, citing that the diagnostic benefits did not sufficiently outweigh the risks. In early 2009, the FDA issued a Complete Response Letter, formally denying the approval of Imagify. This regulatory setback was a critical blow to the company. In the aftermath, Acusphere implemented substantial cost-reduction measures, including a significant workforce reduction and suspending its SEC reporting obligations in March 2009. PitchBook data indicates the company went out of business around March 2018.