MagForce
 | |
| Company type | Joint-stock company |
|---|---|
| XETRA: MF6 | |
| ISIN | DE000A0HGQF5 |
| Industry | Biomedical engineering |
| Founded | 1997 |
| Headquarters | , |
Key people | Ben J. Lipps (CEO) Hoda Tawfik (CMO) |
| Products | Health care services, especially cancer therapy |
Number of employees | 25 (2017) |
| Website | www.magforce.de |
MagForce AG is a publicly traded German company based in Berlin, Germany that develops medical devices that generate magnetic hyperthermia to treat cancer. The company was founded in 1997 as a spin-off from Charité.[1]
The medical technology company conducts research in the field of nano medicine. It was the first company to receive European authorisation for a medical device containing nanoparticles, in 2010.[2]
History
[edit]MagForce was founded in 1997 by Berlin biologist Andreas Jordan and biology engineer Regina Scholz, with Peter Heinrich later stepping in to manage the company.[3]
MagForce AG was listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in 2007. Having developed their NanoTherm, NanoPlan, and NanoActivator treatment systems, they received EU-wide certification (CE mark) and their first authorisation, specifically for the treatment of glioblastoma in 2010,[4][5][6]The scientific basis for this form of NanoTherm therapy was established by researchers at the Charité hospital in Berlin.
By 2013, sales of the system were poor; one reason for that was that the company had been run with little money, raising only about 11 million euros by 2010, and had scant clinical trial with which to convince oncologists that its system was effective and safe.[5] The CEOs, Hoda Tawfik and Christian von Volkmann, re-evaluated the company's strategy, and raised 33.3 million euros, and used about half of that to retire debt.[5] In September 2013, American Ben Lipps, who had previously led the DAX-listed Fresenius Medical Care Group, took over as the company's CEO.[7] Lipps had played a crucial role in the widespread market adoption of dialysis procedures and was drawn to MagForce by his enthusiasm for innovative technology.[8][7] In an interview with Die Welt, Lipps expressed optimism about MagForce's future, stating the company was" on the path to becoming a successful and highly profitable global player in oncology, with the potential to significantly improve the lives of cancer patients".[9]
The company established a US subsidiary, which raised around $15M in 2014 to pursue US approval.[10] The FOCUS reports in 2018 on the company's US strategy: with the specially founded subsidiary Magforce USA, Inc. is to be granted in the United States for the treatment of prostate cancer, which in the case of greater patient volume for faster refinancing of the research and would cause development costs.[11] In 2018, the corresponding approval study was approved by the responsible authority Food and Drug Administration and is currently in the implementation. Ben Lipps: “FDA approval was a much greater success than the capital market has so far realized. It is important to understand that the FDA was classified as a medical technology product some time ago. The FDA requirements for a medical device are significantly less stressful and risky. If we can provide our forecast results in the upcoming study, which refers to the treatment of prostate cancer, we will quickly receive the commercial approval.”[12]
In 2017, MagForce obtained a €35M euro investment from the European Investment Bank under the Juncker Plan,[13] alongside investments from the billionaire Silicon Valley investor, Peter Thiel, hedge fund Moore Capital, and CEO Ben Lipps himself. By 2018, MagForce employed around 40 people.
In July 2022, the Management Board, in consultation with the Supervisory Board, began insolvency proceedings.[14] The proceedings were officially opened in October 2022. Following these proceedings, the company shares lost nearly all their value, leading to a decision to delist from the stock exchange in the same month.[citation needed]
Products & Services
[edit]Nanotherm Process
[edit]MagForce has developed a cancer treatment known as NanoTherm, which specifically targets solid tumours. The procedure involves a solution of iron oxide nanoparticles with superparamagnetic properties that is directly injected into the tumor. A couple of days later, the person with the tumor is placed inside a large piece of equipment similar to an MRI machine, also manufactured by MagForce, which creates a strong, fast-changing magnetic field. When exposed to an alternating magnetic field, the nanoparticles to oscillate at an extremely high speed, which in turn generates heat causing the temperature within the cancer cells to rise to as much as 70 degrees Celsius. This intense heat destroys the cancerous tissue, or significantly weakens it to a point that it is made more vulnerable to other treatments, like radiation. Typically, there are six such treatment sessions in the machine.[5][1][15] The treatment is noted for its minimal side effects.
The equipment necessary to generate the alternating magnetic field was installed in clinics across German cities including Berlin, Cologne, Münster, Kiel, and Frankfurt. In early 2019, a mobile version of the apparatus was introduced in Lublin, eastern Poland.[16] However, the relatively high acquisition costs of the technology have so far proved prohibitive for its commercial breakthrough. Another obstacle to the acceptance of the method is the lack of automatic reimbursement by health insurance companies. Reimbursements have, up to date, only been authorised throughout Europe, after patients have made private advance payments.[17]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Arndt Reuning (2017-06-08). "Nanomedizin zwischen Wissenschaft und Fiktion". Deutschlandfunk Kultur (in German). Retrieved 2017-09-21.
- ^ "Zitat der Berliner Wirtschaftsförderung: (Magforce is) "the first company in the world to receive European approval for a medical product using nanoparticles"". www.talent-berlin.de.
- ^ "Medizin Nanotechnik gegen Krebs Seite" [Medicine Nanotechnology against cancer page]. www.wiwo.de.
- ^ "Der Investitionsfonds der Europäischen Union: Eine innovative Methode mit weltweiter Strahlkraft" [The European Union Investment Fund: an innovative approach with global appeal]. investeu.europa.eu. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
- ^ a b c d Hollmer, Mark (June 10, 2013). "For Germany's MagForce, a step back before moving forward with its nanoparticle tumor treatment". FierceBiotech.
- ^ "MagForce AG gibt positive Ergebnisse der Hauptversammlung 2018 bekannt | Corporate - EQS News" [MagForce AG announces positive results of the 2018 Annual General Meeting | Corporate - EQS News]. www.eqs-news.com. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
- ^ a b Böschen, Mark; Werle, Klaus (2014-03-02). "Arbeit statt Rente: Unruhestand von Managern als Viagra fürs Ego" [Work instead of retirement: Managers’ restless retirement as Viagra for the ego]. Der Spiegel (in German). ISSN 2195-1349. Retrieved 2024-08-14.
- ^ Meyer, Jens-Uwe (2016-09-09). "Sind Sie über 45 Jahre alt? Dann sind Sie kreativ tot..." [Are you over 45 years old? Then you are creatively dead...]. www.manager-magazin.de (in German). Retrieved 2024-08-14.
- ^ Stephan Maaß (2013-06-16). ""Wir bekämpfen den Tumor von innen heraus"" ["We fight the tumor from within"]. Die Welt (in German). Retrieved 2017-09-21.
- ^ Constine, Josh (August 8, 2014). "Nanomedicine Company MagForce Takes $15M From Thiel's Mithril Capital". TechCrunch.
- ^ "3. Artikel und Aspekt im Altisländischen", Artikel und Aspekt, Berlin, Boston: DE GRUYTER, pp. 73–113, 2000, doi:10.1515/9783110825961.73, ISBN 9783110825961, retrieved 2022-08-29
- ^ BILANZ-Redaktion (2018-05-07). "Healthcare-Veteran Ben Lipps: "Die MagForce-Idee ist brillant"". DIE WELT (in German). Retrieved 2022-08-29.
- ^ "Press Release: Germany: Investment Plan for Europe - EIB backs cancer therapy developer MagForce with up to EUR 35m". European Investment Bank. 9 August 2017.
- ^ "Magforce - The Nanomedicine Company". magforce.com. Retrieved 2023-02-23.
- ^ Cairns, Elizabeth (April 17, 2013). "Cancer survival could use the MagForce". EPvantage.
- ^ "Pressemitteilung der MagForce AG" [Press release from MagForce AG]. www.magforce.com.[dead link]
- ^ "Ist das der Steve Jobs der MedTech-Welt?" [Is this the Steve Jobs of the MedTech world?]. wallstreetONLINE (in German). 2018-08-15. Retrieved 2024-08-14.