GE HealthCare (Nasdaq: GEHC) has claimed a European approval for a relatively compact, self-shielded cyclotron designed for the local production of the rapidly decaying isotopes used in PET imaging tracers.
The CE Mark for the MINItrace Magni enables the in-house supply of fluorine-18 — the molecule used to power GE HealthCare’s Flyrcado, Cerianna and Vizamyl agents — as well as the standards of carbon-11, oxygen-15 and nitrogen-13.
At the same time, the company said its PETtrace cyclotron’s solid target platform will expand into copper-64 production for research use, a metal isotope GE HealthCare said could form the basis for future diagnostic and therapeutic agents in areas such as prostate cancer and HER2-positive breast cancer.
“The molecular imaging landscape is being reshaped by the expansion of theranostics, the introduction of new PET tracers, and demand across oncology, neurology and cardiology,” said Erez Levy, GE HealthCare’s VP of molecular imaging. “That calls for a longer-term view of radiopharmaceutical production — one that supports established services while allowing institutions to prepare for new clinical and research applications.”
According to the company, the MINItrace Magni includes a three-click workflow and carries a footprint of 7.2 square meters. It automatically prepares the cyclotron and its targets and tunes the radiation beam. Many PET isotopes have short half-lives and a small delivery window, requiring them to be produced as close to patients as possible in some cases.
Sofie has also been co-developing its own F-18 radiotracer with its future owner. Currently being studied in phase 3 trials as a diagnostic for pancreatic cancer and gastroesophageal tumors, its 110-minute half-life gives it about eight hours of travel time.
Meanwhile, the expansion of PETtrace’s solid target platform will add copper-64 to the production of gallium-68 and zirconium-89, with the latter making its debut earlier this year. Cu-64 is being studied in combination with the more powerful isotope Cu-67: the former is delivered first to highlight tumors on a PET scan, while the latter’s radiation is strong enough to kill the cancer cells.
