Orano Med, a specialist in the development of targeted alpha therapies for oncology, has opened its first Alpha Therapy Laboratory (ATLab).
Located in Brownsburg near Indianapolis, US, ATLab is the world’s first industrial scale pharmaceutical facility dedicated to the production of lead-212-based radio ligand therapies.
Senior Executive Vice-President Projects & Innovation R&D and Nuclear Medicine for the Orano Group Guillaume Dureau commented: "Coupled with the lead-212 production capacity of our research unit in Plano, Texas – the Domestic Distribution & Purification Unit – this new industrial site will enable us to serve North American patients requiring targeted lead-212 radiotherapy treatments."
Enhancing cancer therapy with lead-212 alpha emissions
Targeted Alpha Therapy with lead-212 combines the ability of biological molecules to target cancer cells and the short-range cell-killing capabilities of lead-212 generated alpha emissions, giving patients the chance at better treatment outcomes.
The development of radiopharmaceuticals has long been hampered by the difficulty of manufacturing and distributing on an industrial scale.
The construction of Orano Med's ATLab Indianapolis is therefore a significant step towards making these new treatments available to patients with unmet needs in North America.
The facility
ATLab Indianapolis, with over 30,000 sqft of floor space, represents an investment of USD $20m and will create 25 jobs.
The site will focus on the production of lead-212 therapies developed by Orono Med, as well as their distribution in the North American region.
In 2023, Orano Med started construction work on a similar facility at Valenciennes in France to serve the European market.
Combined, this will enable Orano Med to manufacture 10,000 doses a year worldwide as of 2025, with the aim of producing ten times that number by the end of the decade.
CEO of Orano Med, Julien Dodet commented: "We are convinced that lead-212 radioligand therapies will soon become an essential tool in the fight against cancer. Having obtained — together with our partner RadioMedix — Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) from the FDA for our most advanced drug AlphaMedix, the inauguration of ATLab Indianapolis represents another major step forward in the development, production, and distribution of these new treatments on a large scale.”
