Non-conventional radionuclides in personalised medicine

<!--HTML--><p><strong>Abstract:</strong></p><p><span style="color:black;"><span>Nuclear&nbsp;Medicine, and&nbsp;more particularly the so-called theranostics&nbsp;approach&nbsp;based on the combination of diagnostics and treatment drugs, has seen recent breakthroughs,&nbsp;originating from radionuclides made newly available notably for European academic and industrial R&amp;D scientists.</span></span></p><p><span style="color:black;"><span>A striking example is the use of targeted&nbsp;radiopharmaceuticals&nbsp;directed to the Prostate Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA) and Somatostatin Receptor targeted therapy with&nbsp;177Lu beta-emitter. Alpha-emitting radionuclides have also been applied successfully in research and clinic. The clinical approval of Xofigo®&nbsp;(223RaCl2) represented an important milestone in the translation and application of alpha emitter based radiopharmaceuticals.</span></span></p><p><span style="color:black;"><span>Improved access to a portfolio of selected radionuclides, bioconjugates and radiopharmaceuticals is an important requirement for preclinical evaluations, clinical trials, and ultimately their translation as new drugs.</span></span></p><p><span style="color:black;"><span>The&nbsp;production of these&nbsp;radionuclides is complex and sometimes requires lengthy irradiations using powerful reactors, cyclotrons in combination with&nbsp;isotope mass&nbsp;separation facilities.&nbsp;</span></span></p><p><span style="color:black;"><span>During the lecture, I will introduce some of&nbsp;the recent challenges and developments&nbsp;that were witnessed over the past few years in the field, and show how the development of ion beam production techniques has allowed the production and test of new&nbsp;radiotherapeutics, notably with a new coordinated approach involving major large scale facilities in Europe.</span></span></p>