Theranostics entails the pairing of a diagnostic test and therapy that both bind to the same target. As an example, a molecule that binds to a protein on a cancer cell could carry with it a radioactive isotope that shows up on scans to help diagnose the disease, then another radioactive isotope designed to destroy the cancer cell. Targeted radiotheranostic therapies therefore make precision oncology a reality with targeted radiotheranostic therapy.
Theranostics is already used to treat a number of late-stage cancers, but it is only available in a handful of specialised centres. We also need to develop new, innovative radiotheranostics, but work on this is currently not coordinated on a European scale.
Towards a collaborative, European ecosystem for theranostics
The overarching aim of new IHI project Thera4Care is to establish an integrated, collaborative European ecosystem for theranostics that brings together leading academic centres, healthcare providers, SMEs and industry stakeholders to support healthcare system readiness for theranostics.
The project will focus on a number of key challenges to help position Europe as a global leader in theranostics. Part of the project will work to explore how to strengthen the manufacture and supply of radiotheranostics, with the goal of optimising the timely and cost-effective delivery of treatments to healthcare facilities. Another part of the project focuses on the development of cancer models capable of testing and studying theranostics in the lab, before they are tested in humans. This will facilitate the testing and potential market access of innovative theranostics solutions.
Elsewhere, the project will deliver a comprehensive framework for phase 1 clinical trials of radiopharmaceuticals. The framework will incorporate adaptive elements, so that trials can respond flexibly to interim results and new treatments.
Finally, the team will work to optimise the clinical use of radiotheranostics by delivering artificial intelligence-based advances in imaging; working on personalised dosing protocols to further improve outcomes for patients; and establishing a multi-modal oncology platform that will help physicians by visualising relevant patient data.
‘An extraordinary consortium’
“Thera4Care succeeded in bringing several excellent individual participants together, building an extraordinary consortium and allowing the vertical integration of all processes required to identify, translate, and scale up new radiotheranostic concepts, substantially improving patient benefit and access throughout Europe,” said the project’s scientific and academic coordinators, Salvatore Annunziata of Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS and Evis Sala of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore. “Thera4Care strives to improve patient outcomes by developing and translating new radiotheranostic concepts, increasing treatment benefits, reducing toxicity, and fast tracking patient access.”
“As part of its efforts to advance connected, personalised and compassionate cancer care, GE HealthCare is leading innovation in theranostics,” said Ben Newton, General Manager, Oncology at GE HealthCare. “Thera4Care is a unique collaboration of academic and industry partners who share a common goal of developing, simplifying and standardizing scalable solutions for the production, detection and monitoring of radioligand imaging agents and radioligand therapies. Our collective efforts are designed to improve healthcare system readiness for this rapidly growing field of precision medicine.”
The IHI theranostics portfolio
Thera4Care is one of three theranostics projects launched under IHI call 5, the other two being ILLUMINATE and ACCELERATE.EU.