This innovative technology has been developed by radiopharmacist Elisabeth von Guggenberg as part of a project at the MUI funded by the Austrian science fund, FWF. The findings were recently published in the European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Medical Imaging. This journal is the most important platform for the exchange of new clinical information within nuclear medicine, underscoring the potential impact of this new technology, which follows the so-called theragnostics approach that closely integrates diagnostics and targeted therapy. It is expected to be tested in a clinical study on patients with small-cell lung carcinoma in the near future.
Radiopharmaceuticals are radioactive drugs used in combination with imaging techniques for diagnostics and in targeted radionuclide cancer therapy. For the first time, the new radiolabelled substance has been used in PET imaging (positron emission tomography) to diagnose a patient with small-cell lung cancer at the University Hospital for Nuclear Medicine Innsbruck, directed by Irene Virgolini. The substance also shows promising potential for the therapy of this fast-growing tumour, which accounts for 12 to 15 per cent of lung cancer cases.
The radiopharmaceutical will now be further developed for clinical application under a licensing agreement with the US company Evergreen Theragnostics, Inc. The company with headquarters in Springfield, NJ was founded in 2019 and develops radiopharmaceuticals for cancer patients. Ascenion as a technology transfer partner of the Medical University of Innsbruck has supported the corresponding license negotiations.
Further information:
MUI's press release
