Advanced Chemotherapy Technologies

About Advanced Chemotherapy Technologies

Advanced Chemotherapy Technologies (ACT) is a clinical-stage company, founded in 2014 and headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina, focused on developing novel drug delivery systems. The company's core technology, which was licensed from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, centers on an implantable device designed for the localized delivery of chemotherapy drugs directly to tumors.

The technology was developed in the laboratories of Dr. Jen Jen Yeh and Dr. Joseph M. DeSimone at UNC. The founding team includes Jen Jen Yeh, Joseph M. DeSimone, and Anthony (Tony) Voiers, who serves as the CEO. Voiers holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from North Carolina State University and was previously the founder and CEO of Novocor Medical Systems, Inc.

ACT's lead product, the ACT-IOP-003 system, is an implantable device about the size of a quarter that uses a mild electrical current, a process called iontophoresis, to deliver chemotherapy with precision into dense tumor microenvironments. This approach is designed to overcome the limitations of traditional systemic chemotherapy by concentrating the therapeutic agent at the tumor site, thereby increasing its efficacy and significantly reducing systemic toxicity. The company is initially targeting locally advanced, non-resectable pancreatic cancer, one of the most difficult cancers to treat. In preclinical studies, pancreatic tumors treated with gemcitabine via the ACT device shrank by an average of 40%, whereas tumors in the control group grew significantly.

The business operates in the medical device and oncology markets, aiming to provide a new treatment modality for patients with solid tumors. Its business model revolves around the clinical development and eventual commercialization of its proprietary drug delivery platform. The company has secured funding through various channels, including Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grants from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), strategic loans, and Series A financing rounds led by investors such as Khosla Ventures and Spectrum Financial.