Theraclion Receives an Additional Financing of €1.1 Million from Bpifrance’s "Industrial Strategic Innovation" Program

Regulatory News:

THERACLION (Paris:ALTHE) (Alternext, FR0010120402 - ALTHE), a company specialized in leading-edge medical equipment for echotherapy, has obtained new funding following the achievement of the fifth milestone (out of seven) of its TUCE project which is being run in collaboration with SuperSonic Imagine (Euronext: SSI FR0010526814).

Reaching this new milestone and obtaining this financial backing of € 1.1 million, in the form of a repayable advance from Bpifrance was the next step after the progress made last year and the payment of €900 thousand. The TUCE project seeks to develop a medical system that can ablate benign tumours such as breast fibroadenomas without the need for an invasive intervention. It uses high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) guided by SuperSonic Imagine's innovative imaging technology, which monitors the changes in treated tissue.

The project, launched in May 2009, is led by Theraclion with SuperSonic Imagine as partner. SuperSonic Imagine is an innovative medical imaging company which has developed a new generation ultrasound diagnostic imaging device, called Aixplorer®. Based on a unique imaging technology, their system improves detection and classification of lesions by measuring tissue stiffness in real time coupled with exceptionally high-quality morphological images.

This tranche was unlocked following European clinical trial success and the launch of a US fibroadenoma study.

"We are delighted to see that the TUCE project, led by Theraclion, has reached this new milestone. This project is part of our "Industrial Strategic Innovation" program and our ambition is to support future High Tech industry French leaders. We renew our support for Theraclion, which is developing an innovative medical system to treat tumors non-invasively”, said Nicole Tannières, Head of the Collaborative Programs and Technology Transfer Department at Bpifrance.

David Caumartin, CEO of Theraclion, concludes: ”We are pleased that Bpifrance is continuing to finance this innovative project. Their decision demonstrates the confidence they have in our ability to deliver on key milestones with our partner SuperSonic Imaging. We see this collaboration as a means for us to deliver a new generation of Echotherapy systems guided by best in class Ultrasound imaging. Our new platform will be more efficient and simpler to use enabling new indications yet to be investigated. We strive to innovate continuously and to offer novel, minimally invasive technologies able to replace legacy surgical procedures.”

TUCE is supported by the French Strategic Industrial Innovation program (Innovation Stratégique Industrielle; ISI), which foresees up to € 6.9 m in overall funding for Theraclion. The Company has already received € 5.4 m including this tranche and preceding tranches.

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About SuperSonic Imagine

Founded in 2005 and based in Aix-en-Provence (France), SuperSonic Imagine is a company specializing in medical imaging. The company designs, develops and markets a revolutionary ultrasound system, Aixplorer®, with an UltraFast™ platform that can acquire images 200 times faster than conventional ultrasound systems. Aixplorer® is the only system that can image two types of waves: ultrasound waves ensure excellent image quality and shear waves, which allow physicians to visualize and analyze the stiffness of tissue in a real-time, reliable, reproducible and non-invasive manner. This innovation, ShearWave™ Elastography, significantly improves the detection and characterization of numerous pathologies in several applications including breast, thyroid, liver and prostate. SuperSonic Imagine has been granted regulatory clearances for the commercialization of Aixplorer® in the main global markets. Over the past years, SuperSonic Imagine enjoyed the backing of several prestigious investors, among which Auriga Partners, Edmond de Rothschild Investment Partners, Bpifrance, Omnes Capital and NBGI. For more information about SuperSonic Imagine, please go to www.supersonicimagine.com

About BPIFRANCE

Bpifrance is a subsidiary of Caisse des Dépôts and the French government, and the trusted partner of entrepreneurs. The French public investment bank finances businesses from the seed phase to stock exchange listing, through loans, guarantees and equity. Bpifrance accompanies firms developing export activities and provides support services for their innovation and acquisition projects, in partnership with Business France and Coface.

Bpifrance offers businesses a financing continuum, present in every key phase of business development and an offer adapted to the specific regional context.

With a network of 42 regional offices (90% of decisions are made at the regional level), Bpifrance serves entrepreneurs to boost economic competitiveness. Bpifrance acts in support of public policy established by the State and the Regions to meet three goals:

• accompany businesses in their growth;

• prepare tomorrow’s competitive landscape;

• develop an ecosystem that favours entrepreneurship.

Bpifrance acts as a powerful partner to businesses, one that is on hand and able to respond efficiently to all of their financing, innovation and investment needs.

More information at www.bpifrance.fr and http://investissementsdavenir.bpifrance.fr/
Twitter: @bpifrance

About Theraclion

Theraclion is a French company specializing in high-tech medical equipment using therapeutic ultrasound. Drawing on leading-edge technologies, Theraclion has designed and manufactured an innovative solution for echotherapy, the Echopulse®, allowing non-invasive tumor treatment through ultrasound-guided high-intensity focused ultrasound.

Theraclion is ISO 13485 certified and has received the CE mark for non-invasive ablation of breast fibroadenomas and thyroid nodules. Based in Malakoff, near Paris, France Theraclion has brought together a team of 25 people, 52 percent of whom are dedicated to R&D and clinical trials. For more information, please visit Theraclion’s website: www.theraclion.com.

Theraclion is listed on Alternext Paris
PEA-PME Eligible
Mnemonic: ALTHE - ISIN Code: FR0010120402

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