Experts Push More Frequent Dosing of Cancer Radiopharmaceuticals — SkimNews
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- Louise Emmett, a leader in radiopharmaceuticals who works with AstraZeneca and Novartis, is calling on drug developers to be bolder and dose cancer radiopharmaceuticals more frequently than current regimens allow
- Radiopharmaceuticals have grown into a powerful new oncology tool over the last five years, with experts believing the therapies could destroy cancer cells and extend patient lives
- Experimental radiopharmaceutical therapies have inadvertently affected patients' kidneys, liver, and bone marrow, surfacing safety risks that have rattled drug developers
- Safety concerns have already driven at least one radiopharmaceutical company to shut down in recent months and caused operational headaches at other drug developers
- Emmett and likeminded experts believe the pharma industry is essentially 'scared' of how powerful these treatments are, leading to overly conservative dosing strategies
Why it matters: The dosing standoff shapes how aggressively patients with cancer are treated with a promising new class of therapies — if developers hew to conservative dosing due to kidney, liver, and bone marrow toxicity, patients may miss out on the full benefit of radiopharmaceuticals, yet bolder dosing risks more company shutdowns and setbacks.
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