The Sona Story
From an idea formed in a small university laboratory the Sona story is one of people, passion, and perseverance.
It started in 2013 when Dr. Gerrard Marangoni, professor of chemistry at St Francis Xavier University, launched a research project into gold nanorods, intrigued as to why they weren’t being used more widely.
“I quickly discovered that the presence of cytotoxins in the gold nanorods is a very important barrier to their adoption,” he said.
The presence of the cytotoxin CTAB (cetyltrimethylammonium bromide) meant gold nanorods could have limitations on their use in-vivo.
For more than a decade, manufacturers of gold nanorods had been approaching the CTAB problem by coating, removing or exchanging it and hoping for the best, but Dr. Marangoni had a simpler solution:
“Why not make gold nanorods without CTAB altogether?”
So, Dr. Marangoni tasked his research associates, Dr. Kulbir Singh and Dr. Mike McAlduff, with developing toxin-free gold nanorods that could be manufactured cost-effectively and at volume.
After months of experimenting with different methods and chemicals, the team had its ‘eureka’ moment and finally succeeded in developing gold nanorods free of CTAB.
That’s when Sona Nanotech was born – Sona being the Hindi word for gold. Sona’s inception was followed by years of hard work to perfect the process and develop the ability to synthesize large volumes of high-quality gold nanorods.
The journey to bring the company where it is today has been both challenging and rewarding in equal measure, and the journey ahead promises to be even more exciting.
Where we are today
In October 2025, Sona completed its first-in-human clinical study in immunotherapy-resistant melanoma, achieving an 80% overall response rate. Human tissue analysis at Dalhousie University confirmed NK cell infiltration and PD-L1 upregulation in patient samples, establishing the biological rationale for combination therapy. In May 2026, Sona announced the IGNITE-THT study and PRIME-THT study, two combination therapy clinical studies in melanoma, with early read-outs expected within six to eight months of initiation respectively. The research project that began in a university lab is now a publicly traded clinical-stage oncology company with human proof-of-concept data, peer-reviewed publications, and an active clinical programme.
Kulbir Singh, PhD, co-founder of Sona Nanotech and head of GNR R&D
Where is Sona Nanotech based?
Sona Nanotech is headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The company was founded from research at St. Francis Xavier University and conducts clinical research in partnership with Dalhousie University and the QEII Health Sciences Centre. It is publicly traded on the CSE (SONA) and OTCQB (SNANF). |