On December 12, 2019 Fuzionaire Radioisotope Technologies K.K. ("FRIT"), a Japanese affiliate of radiopharmaceutical company Fuzionaire Diagnostics, Inc. ("Fuzionaire Dx"), reported a collaborative research agreement with the Department of Nuclear Medicine and Tracer Kinetics at Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine (Press release, Osaka University, DEC 12, 2019, View Source [SID1234552327]). The collaboration will use Fuzionaire Dx’s proprietary chemistry and Osaka’s unique clinical and radiochemistry capabilities to accelerate the discovery of novel anti-cancer radiotherapeutic agents.

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The joint research effort aims to produce therapeutic molecules that contain astatine-211, a radioactive isotope, as the tumor-destroying payload. Astatine-211 emits alpha particles, which have enough energy to destroy cells. Unlike available treatments that emit beta particles, alpha particles penetrate a very limited distance, typically a depth of only a few cells. This makes it possible for alpha particles to treat isolated cancer cells, disseminated tumors, micrometastases, and supplement conventional therapies that may leave undetectable tumors that could lead to a recurrence. The initial research collaboration aims to identify clinical candidates for different oncology indications.

The collaboration will also further explore Fuzionaire Dx’s fluorine-18 radiochemistry platform, which can produce radiopharmaceuticals that identify and localize cancerous tissue in positron emission tomography (PET) scans prior to radiotherapeutic intervention, enabling better treatment stratification and monitoring of patient response.

"The Department of Nuclear Medicine and Tracer Kinetics at Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine is one of Japan’s leading nuclear medicine departments, with particular expertise in alpha nuclides for cancer therapy," said FRIT CEO Hiroshi Nakashita, MD. "We look forward to collaborating with leaders in the field on work that could greatly improve outcomes for patients with cancers that are difficult to treat using existing methods."

Primary leadership for the scientific collaboration includes Tadashi Watabe, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Nuclear Medicine and Tracer Kinetics at Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine, and Anton Toutov, PhD, Chief Science Officer of Fuzionaire Dx.

"We are very pleased to be working with the Fuzionaire team," said Professor Tadashi Watabe, project research lead at Osaka. "This collaborative research agreement is consistent with our department’s vision to become a pipeline of drug development, moving our research from the laboratory into clinical trials."

Anton Toutov, PhD, Chief Science Officer of Fuzionaire Dx, added, "There are unique chemistry challenges associated with the synthesis of astatine-211 and fluorine-18 radiopharmaceuticals, and our insights in this area are among the technological foundations of our company. We are excited to combine Osaka’s clinical capabilities and infrastructure with our expertise and technology to develop treatments and diagnostics to impact cancer care."

About Nuclear Medicine at Osaka University

The Integrated Radiation Laboratory at Osaka University Graduate School of Medicine is an interdisciplinary environment combining the use of diagnostic imaging techniques (PET and SPECT) as well as new application areas in therapeutic radiation oncology and radioactive isotopes. The team has the resources and personnel to explore novel radiopharmaceuticals from pre-clinical models to application in clinical practice. The laboratory was led by Professor Jun Hatazawa, one of Japan’s leading nuclear medicine physicians and current President of Asia Oceania Federation of Nuclear Medicine and Biology.