MD Anderson, Empyrean Partner to Develop High Energy Electron Therapy

The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and Empyrean Medical Systems, Inc. will partner to jointly develop novel technologies and products in the fields of radiation oncology and cancer therapeutics.

This agreement brings together the complementary research and development expertise of both institutions to advance innovative intellectual property from MD Anderson to improve the delivery of radiation therapy for patients with cancer.

“We are proud to collaborate with MD Anderson as we work toward bringing these novel technologies to light,” said Kal Fishman, founder, president, and chief executive officer of Empyrean Medical Systems. “Our goal is to develop multiple state-of-the-art products to deliver optimal radiation therapy for our clinicians and make a real difference for patients and their families.”

Under this agreement, Empyrean obtains an exclusive license to develop and commercialize a new approach for delivering radiation therapy originally discovered by MD Anderson researchers. The Magnetically Optimized Very High Energy Electron Therapy (MOVHEET) method has the potential to significantly improve the precision of radiation delivered by machinery with a similar footprint to conventional options.

“The combined expertise of MD Anderson and Empyrean allows us the opportunity to take advantage of dosimetric characteristics of very high energy electron beams for the treatment of malignant tumors,” said Mohammad Salehpour, PhD, professor of Radiation Physics at MD Anderson. “The MOVHEET system is designed from the ground up to deliver both conventional and FLASH dose rate radiotherapy with enhanced precision to increase its efficacy.”

In addition to MOVHEET, Empyrean and MD Anderson intend to collaboratively develop additional technologies based on Empyrean’s intellectual property, all with the goal of optimizing care for patients with cancer. MD Anderson will receive an equity interest in Empyrean and is eligible to receive certain royalties and other financial considerations.