Staying ahead of the technology curve means strengthening your competitive advantage. That is why we give you data-driven innovation insights into the pharma industry. This time, you get to discover 5 hand-picked radiopharmaceutical solutions.
Global Startup Heat Map highlights 5 Top Radiopharmaceutical Solutions out of 92
The insights of this data-driven analysis are derived from the Big Data & Artificial Intelligence-powered StartUs Insights Discovery Platform, covering 2.093.000+ startups & scaleups globally. The platform gives you an exhaustive overview of emerging technologies & relevant startups within a specific field in just a few clicks.
The Global Startup Heat Map below reveals the distribution of the 92 exemplary startups & scaleups we analyzed for this research. Further, it highlights 5 pharma startups that we hand-picked based on criteria such as founding year, location, funding raised, and more. You get to explore the solutions of these 5 startups & scaleups in this report. For insights on the other 87 radiopharmaceutical solutions, get in touch.
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Theragnostics provides Fluorine-18 Therapy
Pharmaceuticals developed for theranostics need to be chemically viable in terms of the radiodecay rate and nucleophilicity. Fluorine-18 has favorable nuclear decay properties due to its chemical nature. Furthermore, nucleophilic fluoride provides advantages with regard to accessibility and chemical handling. Thus, startups develop PET radiotracers based on fluorine-18 substitution reactions.
British startup Theragnostics develops fluorine-18 based radiopharmaceuticals. THG-008, the startup’s lead drug, is a fluorine-18 radiolabelled poly-ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitor (rPARPi). It aids in head and neck cancer, as well as brain cancer imaging. The startup also develops THG-009, an iodine rPARPi.
Navigo Proteins offer Radio Conjugates
There are various challenges in developing radio conjugates. These include non-specific conjugation and heterogeneous isotope-to-antibody ratios. Furthermore, long residence times in the body’s circulation and non-tumorigenic tissues present additional challenges, like radiation poisoning. Because of this, startups develop novel radio conjugates that are more patient-friendly. For example, the adjustable half-life of the chemical ensures optimal circulation residence time.
German startup Navigo Proteins develops novel radio-conjugates. The startup engineers Affilin, artificial proteins designed to selectively bind antigens, radio conjugates. This is done by target-binding Affilin molecules together with isotope-loaded chelators. The molecules have homogenous isotope-to-carrier ratios. Optimizing the loaded radionuclide and the specific half-life of the conjugate allows researchers to attune the radio conjugates for theranostics. The startup also works on precision capturing and precision targeting technologies, such as antibody purification and cellular therapy.
Medtrace delivers Radioactive Water (15O)-based Imaging
Radiopharmaceutical therapeutics expose patients to radiation. Although theranostics is essential, the threat of radioactive poisoning increases with prolonged periods of ailment. Thus, startups develop chemicals that enable theranostic procedures while minimizing exposure to radiation. For example, using 15O water for myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) lowers exposure to radioactivity.
Danish startup MedTrace provides 15O water for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. The startup’s platform consists of an automated hardware system for producing, dosing, and injecting 15O water and analytical software for image processing. Optimal kinetics improves the sensitivity and specificity of each scan, while short scan times enable higher patient throughput. The process also minimizes radiation exposure to patients and staff.
RayzeBio develops Actinium-225 Oncotherapy
Radioisotopes used for oncological treatment typically emit alpha or beta particles. Of the two, alpha-particle emitting radioisotopes deposit 2-3 orders of magnitude more energy to tumor cells. This leads to greater efficiency of the treatment. Thus, there is a need for alpha-emitting radioisotopes, and because of this startups offer alpha-emitting radiopharmaceuticals. For example, actinium-225 is used for treatments of prostate cancer, neuroendocrine tumors, multiple myeloma, and leukemia.
US-based startup RayzeBio provides actinium-225 for oncological therapy. The startup identifies biologically relevant, tumor-specific targets suitable for targeted radiotherapy. The use of macrocyclic peptide-mimetics for the delivery of the radioisotope allows for deep tumor penetration. Using Actinium-225 allows the treatment to be feasible at short distances while minimizing risk to healthy cells.
Naogen Pharma utilizes Rubidium-82 for Cardiological Imaging
Tc-99m allows for the diagnosis of coronary artery disease (CAD) via myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI). However, it isn’t efficient in terms of the radiation exposure that patients face. Thus, startups develop radiotracers that perform efficient diagnoses at low levels of radiation exposure. For example, rubidium-82 is a radiotracer that diagnoses CAD at lower levels of radiation compared to Tc-99m MPI.
French startup Naogen Pharma develops rubidium-82 generators for CAD diagnosis. The startup provides Rubidium-82 radionuclide from a strontium-82/rubidium-82 generator with an infuser. This connects directly to the veins of patients. The system is installable on the patients’ bed along with a positron emission tomography (PET) system. The startup also provides PET screening, myocardial ischemia diagnosis, and other services.
Discover more Pharma Startups
Pharma startups such as the examples highlighted in this report focus on cancer diagnostics, cancer vaccines, as well as RNA therapeutics. While all of these technologies play a major role in advancing the pharma industry, they only represent the tip of the iceberg. To explore more pharma technologies, simply get in touch to let us look into your areas of interest. For a more general overview, you can download our free Pharma Innovation Report to save your time and improve strategic decision-making.
