Janesville, Wis., Nov. 4, 2020 – SHINE Medical Technologies today announced that its Therapeutics division has made its first commercial sales of lutetium-177 to multiple customers. Lutetium-177, or Lu-177, is a therapeutic isotope in demand by clinical trial sponsors because of its potential to revolutionize the treatment of cancer patients. There are dozens of clinical trials studying Lu-177’s potential to treat a range of cancers.
“SHINE’s recent sales of Lu-177 are a significant milestone for the company and important validation of our production and commercial processes,” said Katrina Pitas, vice president and general manager of SHINE Therapeutics. “We look forward to serving customers in both the clinical trial and cancer therapy markets. We expect demand for Lu-177 to grow rapidly as its efficacy and impact on the field of cancer therapy continue to be demonstrated.”
SHINE’s Lu-177 production process enables the company to produce the high specific activity, non-carrier-added Lu-177 that is required by today’s clinical trials. SHINE’s technology also has unique advantages that allow the company to scale production of the isotope quickly and more efficiently. The technology was developed with the help of SHINE’s scientific partners in the Czech Republic, the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry (IOCB Prague) and the Nuclear Physics Institute (NPI) of the Czech Academy of Sciences.
Building One, the first building on SHINE’s isotope production campus, will serve as the company’s bridge production facility. SHINE will produce Lu-177 under GMP conditions at Building One in the short term, while the company builds a larger facility exclusively for the production of Lu-177. Groundbreaking for the larger facility is expected in November. SHINE’s new therapeutic isotope production facility will be able to scale to support the company’s anticipated Lu-177 demand for the next five years. It will be capable of producing more than 300,000 doses of Lu-177 per year.
“This milestone is really exciting, as Lu-177 is effectively a smart bomb for certain types of cancer,” said Greg Piefer, CEO of SHINE. “The ability to target metastatic cancer with very high precision can give hope of survival to patients who previously have had no real options. We’re enthusiastic about bringing our core competencies to this market, and believe we’ll play a major role in ensuring patients worldwide will have access to this very important isotope.”
Lu-177 is a low-energy beta-particle emitter that works by directly irradiating cancer cells after being delivered to the cancer site by a targeting molecule. Lu-177 is used to treat neuroendocrine cancers. It also shows promise for the treatment of metastatic prostate and other cancers.
Based in Janesville, Wisconsin, SHINE deploys its safe, cost-effective and environmentally friendly fusion technology in a stepwise approach. Its systems are used to inspect industrial components in aerospace, defense, energy and other sectors. SHINE’s proprietary medical isotope production processes create non-carrier-added lutetium-177 and are expected to create molybdenum-99. In the future, SHINE plans to scale its fusion technology to help solve one of energy’s toughest hurdles by recycling nuclear waste. Through a purpose-driven and phased approach, SHINE aims to generate fusion power to deliver clean, abundant energy that could transform life on Earth. Want to learn more about SHINE? Follow us on social media @shinefusion and sign up for our email newsletter to follow us on our journey!
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