Research Collaboration to Optimize Molecular Imaging Techniques for Oncology
Royal Philips Electronics Collaboration Combines CellPoint's Novel Diagnostic Imaging Agent and Philips Nuclear Medicine Camera to Make Functional Imaging Readily Available and Affordable
Royal Philips Electronics announced today that it will collaborate with CellPoint, L.L.C, a biotechnology company based in Englewood, Colo., to optimize CellPoint's novel diagnostic imaging agent on Philips' SKYLight gantry-free gamma camera.
The companies will share clinical trial costs to develop the best imaging techniques for improved clinical information and accuracy of diagnoses. The joint goal is to develop a cost-effective, readily accessible molecular imaging technology that can help more clinics and hospitals accurately diagnose cancer and pre-screen patients for therapy.
"There is an interdependence between the companies developing molecular imaging technologies and those developing the agents, and close collaboration among these groups is essential for applied molecular imaging to become a reality," said Peter Luyten, director of molecular imaging, for Philips Medical Systems. "Industry acceptance and widespread adoption of molecular imaging technology will depend on the availability of quality images and proven techniques for successfully imaging and detecting disease. The agreement between Philips and CellPoint represents a new kind of collaboration that can fulfill those requirements and open the door for future agreements of this kind."
Utilizing clinical trial data, Philips will further develop and refine imaging techniques for SKYLight, the industry's first and only gantry-free nuclear camera, to determine requirements for the highest possible image quality and quantitative information about patients' disease.
Unique delivery system
CellPoint's ethylenedicysteine drug conjugate technology ("EC Technology"), is a unique delivery system that functions as a chemical bridge linking tissue-specific ligands (such as hormones, proteins, peptides, glucose analogues) or pharmaceutical compounds (investigational or FDA-approved drugs) to radioisotopes for cancer diagnosis and treatment.
"Essentially, this technology is a universal glue that expands the potential of molecular imaging," said Luyten.
On the diagnostic side, the companies will collaborate on CellPoint's first molecular imaging agent, Tc-99m-EC-deoxyglucose. EC Technology allows the deoxyglucose to be labeled (i.e., linked) with the radioisotope Technetium-99m (Tc-99m). Tc-99m is an excellent radioisotope for diagnostic imaging in nuclear medicine because of its optimal energy for imaging, long half-life, wide availability and ease of use. Radiologists have ready access to Tc-99m either from an in-house Molybdinum generator or by unit dose ordering from radiopharmaceutical companies. To date, however, promising molecular imaging agents have not been labeled with Tc-99m due to its chemical complexity and the lack of a chemically stable coupler capable of linking it to diagnostic compounds. EC Technology's chemical stability and versatility will enable the widespread use and availability of Tc-99m labeled agents.
The collaboration will adopt Tc-99m-EC-deoxyglucose to target tumors and SPECT cameras, including Philips' nuclear medicine cameras to image them. Tumors absorb more glucose than surrounding tissue, so when a cancer patient is injected with this chemically linked agent (via EC Technology), active tumors will absorb both the glucose and the radioisotope. Several of the medical institutions where further clinical trials will be performed will utilize Philips' SKYLight cameras and associated analytical software to produce images of the tumors as well as their rate of radioisotope uptake. The information acquired from the SPECT imaging will be used to determine the location and size of the tumors, as well as to predict required therapeutic doses of agents.
The Phase I clinical trial began in April 2003 at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, ranked the nation's best cancer hospital in 2002 and 2003 by U.S. News & World Report. Philips will review the trial data and determine if adjustments are needed to improve the clinical and diagnostic quality of the images. If necessary, Philips will reprocess the data by optimizing the reconstruction filtering parameters and acquisition protocols for molecular imaging in oncology. This technology can provide significant improvements in the accuracy of diagnosing the presence and the extent of cancer. This agreement can potentially expand into treatments using the same EC Technology to couple a therapeutic radionuclide to a tissue-specific ligand or targeting cancer drug to deliver therapy directly to the tumor site.
Philips' SKYLight gantry-free nuclear camera removes limitations associated with the floor-based mechanical gantries of existing nuclear medicine cameras.
SKYLight's unique architecture allows gamma detectors to be mounted directly into a room's structure or ceiling and is particularly beneficial for patients in severe pain and those who cannot move - allowing operators to image almost any size patient, in almost any condition, in almost any position. SKYLight operators are not required to leave the patient's side.
The latest version of SKYLight, SKYLight 2.0, features a unique concurrent imaging capability that allows clinicians to acquire optimal images for molecular agents and drugs/ radiopharmaceuticals simultaneously, providing better quality images for interpretation and significantly reducing imaging time. Concurrent imaging uses a single acquisition data stream to generate up to 16 image sets simultaneously, each with a different energy window setting. The sets can then be processed and converted into clinically useful information.
CellPoint obtained the worldwide license to EC Technology from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands is one of the world's biggest electronics companies and Europe's largest, with sales of $30.1 billion (EUR 31.8 billion) in 2002.
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