Now going into clinical trials for specific types of cancer, Alpha Tau’s technology shows potential for treating any solid tumor.

[JLS1]

Nalakrats posted about this company earlier this year. I wonder what the difference is between Radium 224, which Alpha Tau uses, vs. Radium 223, Xofigo? -or maybe they're using radium 224 instead of 223 due to patent issues??

I also recall seeing a clinical trial, I think in NY?, using Radium 223 in a similar way as LU-177 and AC223. (hopefully without severe side effects as AC223, ie., damage to saliva glands) Given Radium 223 has been approved for standard of care for bone mets, I wonder if this could help to speed up approval for use on soft tissue mets as well.

Here's a link to Nalakrats original post:

healthunlocked.com/advanced...

-and a link to the above article:

israel21c.org/alpha-radiati...

A breakthrough Israeli technology that eliminates cancerous tumors in 70 percent of cases was nearly lost in bureaucracy and university politics.

Fifteen years ago, Professors Yona Keisari and Itzhak Kelson of Tel Aviv University discovered a way to use alpha radiation to destroy tumors. Their approach was revolutionary – alpha radiation is so powerful it can snap both strands of a cancer cell’s DNA, but it won’t harm surrounding healthy tissue as other types of radiation do.

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However, alpha radiation can’t travel more than about 50 microns (1/20 of a millimeter) inside human tissue. Treating a tumor of, say, 5cm would require hundreds of thousands of short ranged alpha-emitting sources – a seeming impossibility.

Prof. Itzhak Kelson of Tel Aviv University. Photo: courtesy

Keisari and Kelson discovered that, when delivered via a particular isotope of the element radium, alpha radiation can travel as far as 3mm. The isotope, Radium 224, releases atoms that diffuse inside a tumor and then emit their own alpha particles. This approach enables the much farther distribution of alpha particles to kill entire tumors.

The professors and Tel Aviv University patented the technology in 2003. More research was conducted and 12 peer-reviewed papers were published. But squabbling between the various stakeholders over the intellectual property kept their breakthrough in limbo until 2015 when Uzi Sofer was recruited to sort things out.

Sofer had an impressive track record in medical technology. He previously cofounded and served as CEO of Brainsway, which develops treatments using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) for depression, PTSD, OCD and other brain disorders and addictions. The company grew under his leadership from two to 70 employees.

Realizing what the professors had, Sofer formed a new company – Alpha Tau (the “Tau” stands for Tel Aviv University) – to further develop the technology. Earlier this year Alpha Tau raised $29 million from Shavit Capital, Medison Ventures and OurCrowd.

Stimulates immune system

Alpha Tau is the only company to use alpha radiation to treat solid tumors. All other types of brachytherapy (where a sealed radiation source is placed inside or next to the area requiring treatment) use beta or gamma radiation.

“But that only causes a single-strand break in the DNA, from which the cell can recover,” Sofer explains. “And it’s not as focused. As a result, it causes a lot of side effects and destroys healthy tissue.”

When the healthy tissue around the tumor is not destroyed along with the cancer, the immune system is stimulated to recognize and attack the same type of tumors elsewhere in the body. These kinds of metastases are the cause of death for 85% of cancer patients.

“We believe that DaRT technology has tremendous clinical value not only in destroying the tumor but preventing cancer from spreading to other organs,” Sofer says.

[JLS1]

I did a search on RA224 and found this co which sounds interesting. Appears they do their research here: pnnl.gov/ Perhaps someone here who understands all of this can provide more info:

radtran.com/

RadTran

RadTran LLC specializes in nuclear technologies for the advancement of medicine and energy production. Since its inception, RadTran LLC has provided valuable services for a host of international companies in the development and commercialization of new technologies. Currently, RadTran is working to develop and commercialize its own new technology to meet a pressing need in the development of radioimmunotherapy treatments for cancer.

Our Technology

RadTran has developed a new approach for the generation of Ra224 and Ac225. These isotopes have been identified as the most desirable for TAT applications for both direct use and as prerequisites for two other leading medically-attractive isotopes, Pb212 and Bi213. Our patent protected technology enables the efficient extraction of target isotopes from naturally occurring stockpiles of Thorium 232 (Th232), a natural waste byproduct of mining, at a dramatically lower cost. The stable supply of material produced using our technology will give the pharmaceutical companies the means and confidence for the development of new drugs. Furthermore, it will also provide a scalable supply once the drugs receive commercial approval.

Applications for Cancer Treatment

Targeted Alpha Therapies (TAT) are on the cutting edge of cancer treatment. TAT shows great potential to treat a wide range of cancers with a greatly reduced impact on surrounding healthy tissues. The components required for TAT are targeting mechanisms to seek out cancerous cells and radioactive isotopes to destroy the cancerous cells in the body. Existing supply for the appropriate isotopes is very limited and methods for production are exorbitantly expensive and cannot be scaled to meet the demand as new drugs are developed and approved. This shortage of isotope material is a major roadblock in the research and development of new TAT drugs as pharmaceutical companies wait for a scalable and affordable production technology to become available.

[Fairwind]

They seem more concerned with maximizing the income from their patent than saving patients lives. The process of developing new cancer treatments is bogged down, sometimes for years by lawyers arguing over the pathways of potential revenue streams..

[Tall_Allen]

Radium does not form stable chelation complexes, so it cannot be attached to PSMA ligands.

[Notewell in reply to Tall_Allen]

Which is why Actinium isotopes have been trialled instead. They can be "attached" to the PSMA ligand, which means that the isotope does not have to be injected into the tumour lesions directly as it appears is necessary with the isotope use by the Israelis.

The problem with Actinium is not that it produces more adverse effects than Lutetium per se, but that the PSMA ligand attaches not just to PCa tumour cells but also some others such as the salivary glands. Because Actinium is an alpha emitter it is much more destructive of DNA than beta and gamma emitters, so it also is more effective when taken up by salivary glands in destroying them too.

If a different, even more selective ligand than PSMA could be found (or some way to protect the salivary glands to eliminate or reduce uptake) then Actinium would be the preferred isotope with no more adverse effects than Lutetium (as far as is known to date).

[Tall_Allen in reply to Notewell]

Beta emitters, like Lutetium, have an advantage wrt to distance. So less is required for larger tumors. Some are experimenting with mixtures of the two. There is also a danger of kidney damage because the ligands are excreted through the urinary tract. Some experimental ligands are excreted through the bowels. Lots of work to be done on improving ligand specificity.