INCREASING LUTETIUM PRODUCTION, WHILE LEVERAGING METABOLIC IMAGING TO ENHANCE THERANOSTICS EFFECTIVENESS

Selective targeting of therapy with antibody-radioisotope combinations have led to major advances in treating cancers that are resistant to common therapies, such as castrate-resistant prostate cancer. Adding Lutetium-177-PSMA (Lu-177-PSMA) to standard care significantly prolongs survival.

However, the increased use of Lu-177-based therapies has resulted in an increased demand for this isotope, leading to shortage risks.In addition, despite the success of Lu-177-treatment, ~30% of patients do not benefit from treatment, but do suffer from side-effects.ILLUMINATE, will improve the availability and use of theranostics across its value chain by taking a hybrid approach: 1) Imaging capabilities will be improved by implementing novel, broadly applicable, scalable and highly effective Metabolic Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MeMRI), which are expected to give better and faster insight into treatment responses, allowing better patient stratificationand treatment personalisation; 2) The availability of Lu-177 will be fortified by improving its manufacturing process, and by developing sustainable production methods to help meet the general need for radio-isotope based therapies and increase EU autonomy.

The ILLUMINATE consortium (industries Philips, NRG, Bracco, TeslaDC, Wavetronica, Lygature, SDN, EuroBioImaging, and the Univerisities of Torino, Lund, Amsterdam UMC, Klinik Essen, coordinated by UMC Utrecht) uses the example of Lu-177-PSMA as a showcase clinical trial in 150 patients for broadly applicable innovative technologies in the field of theranostics and radioisotope manufacturing for oncology.