Project description
Making medical isotopes in Europe safer and more sustainable
Radium-223 is a radioactive isotope – radionuclide – used to treat metastatic cancer. Other radionuclides show promise and could meet future demand, but there are several major challenges to be faced before becoming available. To address these, the EU-funded SECURE project will identify and use existing resources for new radionuclides, especially alpha- and beta-emitting isotopes. It aims to remove crucial barriers to sustainable production and provide guidance and recommendations for fully exploiting alpha and beta particle therapy. In addition, the project will deliver key lessons learnt to deal with problems in upscaling and sustainably producing isotopes.
Objective
SECURE project aims to make a major contribution to the sustainability of medical isotope production and its safe application in Europe. It is focusing on promising developments in the design of irradiation targets, production routes for existing and new isotopes in nuclear therapy and diagnostics. Isotopes critical in the success of nuclear medicine are selected and research activities are identified to address some of the major challenges in securing its future availability, with the objectives:
1. to remove critical barriers along the production of its selected alpha and beta emitting isotopes that restrict a sustainable production,
2. to develop a framework of guidance and recommendations that enables exploring the full clinical potential of alpha and beta particle therapy and its safe application
3. to provide important lessons learned that act as a demonstration case for addressing issues in upscaling and sustained isotope production.
At present, Ra-223 is the only radiopharmaceutical which has been granted marketing authorization to treat adults with prostate cancer. This has paved the way for a wider use of other alpha emitters such as Ac-225 or Bi-213. The expected demand of nuclear medicine for novel alpha emitters and beta- emitters requires re-evaluation of their production methods and inventories of target materials and parent radionuclides.
The ambition of SECURE consortium is to identify and efficiently use the current resources for new radionuclides, in particular for alpha emitters and the relevant beta emitting theranostic radionuclides. The development of alternative technologies for production of such therapeutic radionuclides for improved patient treatment requires multidisciplinary scientific and technological knowledge including physics, chemistry, material science, machining of target materials, chemistry, biology and radiobiology, radiopharmacy and nuclear medicine. All this chain of expertise is present in SECURE consortium.
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Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
EURATOM-RIA - EURATOM Research and Innovation ActionsCoordinator
05 400 Otwock
Poland
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Participants (16)
1755 LE Petten
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38000 Grenoble
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1000 Ljubljana
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1000 Bruxelles / Brussel
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1121 Budapest
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3528 BL Utrecht
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00196 Roma
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1160 Bruxelles / Brussel
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16000 Praha
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
1111 Budapest
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40129 Bologna
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The organization defined itself as SME (small and medium-sized enterprise) at the time the Grant Agreement was signed.
700115 Iasi
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47014 Meldola
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29238 BREST
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1000 Ljubljana
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1049 Bruxelles / Brussel
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Partners (1)
Partner organisations contribute to the implementation of the action, but do not sign the Grant Agreement.
WA3 6AE Warrington
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