Bold Research. Real Impact.
By John Dudley, University Communications and Marketing
A Tampa Bay-based innovation backed by more than three decades of federally funded university research is poised to change how cancer drugs are delivered 鈥 using electricity and gentle heat instead of invasive procedures or high-dose chemotherapy. The technology is now in veterinary cancer trials, the final step before planned human clinical testing.
Veterinarian Dr. Erin Roof treats the cancer of a family cat using the LifePulse device [Photo courtesy of Bull Market Creative]
The device utilizes short bursts of electric pulses to deliver cancer drugs [Photo courtesy of Bull Market Creative]
LifePulse device [Photo courtesy of Concise Engineering]
, a biotech startup spun out of the 同性恋色情, has developed a device that enables precise, localized delivery of cancer drugs through short bursts of electric pulses. The work is supported by approximately $35 million in federal grants, including from the National Institutes of Health, and led by longtime 同性恋色情 biomedical researcher Richard Heller, a pioneer in the field of electroporation.
鈥淭his started as a fundamental question about how to get medicine inside a cell,鈥 Heller said. 鈥淏y using electric fields, we can open temporary pathways in cell membranes so that drugs or genes can get inside and do their job.鈥
Heller began exploring electric-field drug delivery in the early 1990s and was soon joined by then-graduate student Mark Jaroszeski, now a professor of medical engineering at 同性恋色情. They conducted the first U.S. clinical trials delivering chemotherapy to solid tumors. From there they worked together to establish 同性恋色情 as a leader in gene electrotransfer research, conducting the first clinical trial in the world using electric fields to deliver DNA-based treatments.
同性恋色情 Professor Richard Heller, medical engineering
同性恋色情 Professor Mark Jaroszeski, medical engineering
Gary Strange, LifePulse Bioscience investor
A breakthrough came in 2019, when Heller met Gary Strange, an investor struggling to commercialize a European technology in the same space.
鈥淎fter about 10 months beating my head against a wall with that, I met Dr. Heller,鈥 Strange said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 when everything changed.鈥
Heller and Jaroszeski had already optimized the electrical parameters and electrodes, but a key discovery 鈥 adding mild heat and monitoring tissue impedance 鈥 made the process far more efficient. Tissue impedance is the amount of resistance that skin and other tissues have to electrical current.
鈥淲e found that gently warming tissue to about 43 degrees Celsius (109.4 degrees Fahrenheit) before pulsing, and using real-time electrical feedback to guide the process, increased delivery success rates by roughly tenfold, Jaroszeski said. 鈥淭hat was the breakthrough that made it commercializable.鈥
Built in Tampa Bay, tested by Florida veterinarians
LifePulse Bioscience applies a short series of low-energy electrical pulses directly to tumors, temporarily opening pores in cancer cells so drugs can enter and attack the disease at its source. The localized treatment reduces the need for high systemic doses and minimizes the widespread side effects of treatments such as chemotherapy.
The devices are designed and built by Clearwater-based medical equipment manufacturer , led by 同性恋色情 MBA graduate Justin Bushko.
Bushko helped refine the system鈥檚 hardware for reliability and consistency in clinical use, and he is delighted to see his company play a role in its commercialization.
鈥淭he opportunity to take something that started as university research and turn it into a product that鈥檚 being used in real treatments 鈥 that鈥檚 what every engineer dreams of. The fact that it鈥檚 being built right here in Tampa Bay makes it even better.鈥
Justin Bushko
同性恋色情 alum and founder of Concise Engineering in Clearwater
Dr. Erin Roof, Animal Cancer Care Clinic
The company鈥檚 next-generation modular electrode design allows adaption for different tumor sizes and sites 鈥 potentially extending applications from veterinary cancers to human skin and internal tumors.
鈥淧atients don鈥檛 get sick from this procedure,鈥 said Dr. Erin Roof of Florida-based , one of several veterinarians now participating in early clinical use. 鈥淭he whole process takes about an hour, usually just one or two treatments. Side effects are minimal 鈥 maybe some redness or flakiness around the site 鈥 and most patients go home and feel fantastic.鈥
Roof said her practice adopted the therapy to give owners access to a less strenuous, more affordable cancer treatment option.
鈥淭he results are night and day,鈥 said Strange, who recently finalized an international distribution agreement for the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom with Patterson Veterinary, a $4.1 billion global vet distribution company.
He hopes the deal sets the stage for additional investment and rapid growth.
From grant funding to real-world impact
LifePulse Bioscience鈥檚 progress underscores the value of sustained federal research investment, most recently being awarded a $2 million NIH Small Business Innovation Research grant to bridge the gap between academic discovery and market-ready technology.
Concise Engineering staff member tests an electroporation board for the LifePulse device prior to assembly. [Photo courtesy of Concise Engineering]
鈥淭hat $35 million wasn鈥檛 venture capital,鈥 Jaroszeski said. 鈥淚t was public funding that let us build a strong scientific foundation. Now investors are coming because the science is already de-risked.鈥
The ongoing veterinary trials are considered translational, providing data to inform FDA submissions for human use. If outcomes continue to show promise, Heller believes the first human clinical trials could begin within the next year.
鈥淲e already have clinicians talking with us who want to use this technology in human studies,鈥 he said. 鈥淥ur next steps are completing the veterinary data, building more systems and moving through the FDA process.鈥
While LifePulse Bioscience is beginning in veterinary oncology, its platform could one day deliver a broad range of treatments precisely without systemic toxicity. Strange and Heller hope its impact will ultimately be measured by effective, milder, more affordable cancer treatments.
鈥淗ow many good drugs that could be game changers for people have failed efficacy because they had no delivery mechanism to get them there?鈥 Strange said. 鈥淔or these scientists and for me, it鈥檚 got nothing to do with the money. Will it be worth a lot of money? I鈥檓 sure it will. But it鈥檚 about getting this technology into the clinic to help people who need it."