SHINE Technologies will supply its highly pure, non-carrier-added Lutetium-177 to ImaginAB to help it develop radiopharmaceutical therapies to treat various cancers in preclinical and clinical settings.

SHINE’s n.c.a. Lu-177 is a low-energy beta particle emitter that can be paired with a targeting molecule such as an antibody and peptide to directly target and deliver radiation to cancer cells. In the face of supply chain limitations caused by the recent shutdowns of nuclear reactors, the company’s fusion technology and production methods are expected to scale up the amount of n.c.a Lu-177 based therapies available to treat cancer patients.

ImaginAB plans to use it to develop RPTs with its proprietary minibody and cys-diabody platform technologies. The solutions are widely available with PET imaging technology and therapeutic isotopes, with the minibodies binding specifically to cell surface targets. This enhances immunity and the potential to treat cancer, with the technologies offering highly tumor-targeting selective features of larger antibodies and highly adjustable pharmacokinetics that spare rapid radiation exposure to healthy, surrounding tissue.

"Having a robust supply chain is key to the implementation of radiopharmaceutical therapy and partnering with SHINE for our Lu-177 supply offers access to what we feel will become one of the largest and most reliable sources in the world for this isotope. Lu-177 is a great fit for our platform technologies,” said Ian Wilson, CEO of ImaginAb, in a statement.

SHINE will begin supplying n.c.a. Lu-177 immediately for ImaginAB’s development plans and therapeutic clinical trials that will commence in 2023.

The company also recently entered into a similar arrangement with Telix Pharmaceuticals. It will supply Telix with n.c.a. Lu-177 also for clinical development of potential new therapeutics to treat prostate and kidney cancer.

Specifically, Telix will use the isotope in clinical trials for its therapeutic products, TLX591 (177Lu-rosopatamab for advanced prostate cancer) and TLX250 (177Lu-girentuximab for kidney cancer). It hopes that this research will aid in eventually gaining FDA clearance for these solutions in the U.S. market.

"There continues to be a growing, critical need for more effective treatment of metastatic or late-stage cancers," said Greg Piefer, SHINE's founder and CEO. "Our exciting partnership with Telix allows us to bring hope to these patients as we continue to help deliver Lu-177 for highly precise treatments that produce little damage in the tissue around treatment sites."

Additionally, SHINE Europe, a subsidiary of SHINE, has secured funding to build an advanced medical isotopes facility in the Netherlands. The building will be located in Veendam and leverage SHINE’s production systems to manufacture isotopes, including molybdenum-99 (Mo-99). The company plans to begin construction in the next few years and for the facility to be operating by 2026.

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