SHINE Medical Technologies and GE Healthcare have announced the production of patient-dose quantities of a therapeutic isotope that has shown promise in the treatment of metastatic prostate and other cancers.
The companies, in partnership with the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (IOCB Prague), have been working on the development of the therapeutic isotope lutetium-177, or Lu-177, which is used to treat neuroendocrine cancers. The isotope is a low-energy, beta-particle emitter that works by directly irradiating cancer cells after being delivered to the cancer site by a targeting molecule.
The delivery of Lu-177 in the required quantity and purity is a major step toward commercial production of the therapeutic isotope by SHINE. Last May, SHINE entered an agreement with IOCB Prague that granted the company exclusive access to IOCB’s technology.
The technology enabled the production of the non-carrier-added Lu-177 supplied to GE Healthcare, which has a manufacturing facility in Madison. “Non-carrier-added Lu-177 at the dosage and purity delivered to us bodes well for the potential to provide physicians and patients with a vital, highly effective therapeutic isotope,” says Charles Shanks, GE Healthcare’s principal engineer, Life Sciences.
SHINE, founded in 2010, is a development-stage company working to become a manufacturer of radioisotopes for nuclear medicine. It is the sister company of Phoenix Nuclear Labs in Monona.
