A range of hyper accurate cancer drugs is in production at a newly opened research and manufacturing hub at The University of Queensland.
The newly opened Australian Research Council (ARC) hub for Advanced Manufacture of Targeted Radiopharmaceuticals (AMTAR) is a one-stop-shop that connects biotech firms with the expertise and equipment needed to design, test, and deliver groundbreaking precision cancer treatments.
Created through a $5 million ARC grant and more than $10 million in industry funds, the AMTAR hub will operate out of UQ’s Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) with support from collaborators across the radiopharmaceutical supply chain.
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Sign up todayHub leader and AIBN director of research Professor Kris Thurecht said radiopharmaceuticals were an emerging group of drugs designed to spare the body from the harsh effects of cancer treatment.
“The medical technology is still very much in development, but radiopharmaceuticals already represent a multi-billion-dollar industry that will be integral to modern healthcare,” Professor Thurecht said.
“Through AMTAR we have an opportunity to position Australia as a global leader in this field.”
Therapies like chemotherapy and radiotherapy have traditionally been the backbone of cancer treatments but the indiscriminate application of radiation means healthy cells are also damaged.
Professor Thurecht said radiopharmaceuticals instead offered a highly personalised and targeted approach by sending radiation equipped proteins only to the site of cancers, minimising the impact on the body.
“Radiopharmaceutical science has been around for decades, but it is only through recent advances in scientific infrastructure and instrumentation that we have been able to conceive and create commercially viable products,” Professor Thurecht said.
“AMTAR is the place where this happens, where biotech firms can connect with the scientific expertise and infrastructure needed to develop new drugs and manufacture them at scale.”
AMTAR is a collaboration between UQ, the University of Sydney and multi-national radiopharmaceutical industry partners including Telix, AdvanCell, Starpharma, Clarity Pharmaceuticals, Cyclowest, and GlyTherix.
The hub will also feature contributions from The University of Nottingham, and University of Tokyo, as well as the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre in the US.
ARC Acting Chief Executive Officer Dr Richard Johnson said the AMTAR hub would help unlock the power of radiopharmaceuticals, positioning Australia at the vanguard of a rapidly growing industry.
“The ARC has a proud history of facilitating collaborations that promise wider research benefits and commercial opportunities,” Dr Johnson said.
“AMTAR is an outstanding example of this. By bringing together world-class researchers and industry leaders we are laying the foundations for a rich and lasting radiopharmaceutical manufacturing pipeline.”
Telix Chief Scientist, Dr Michael Wheatcroft, said it was an exciting partnership.
“AMTAR will accelerate the development and commercialisation of novel radiopharmaceuticals in Australia and the team of high quality industry, academic and research partners will enable the translational science required to bring these innovative new technologies to patients,” Dr Wheatcroft said.
The AMTAR research hub will also feature contributions from The University of Nottingham and University of Tokyo, as well as the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre in the US.
Media: AMTAR Business Manager, Shona Osborne, s.osborne@uq.edu.au, +61 405 194 690; AIBN Communications, Alex Druce, a.druce@uq.edu.au, +61 447 305 979
