Workshop on DOE’s Role in Radiopharmaceutical Technology R&D for Targeted Radionuclide Therapy

Summary

The Medical Sciences Division of the Office of Biological and Environmental Research (BER), Office of Science, U.S. Department of Energy, held a workshop for reassessing 1) its investment in and potential pay-offs of radiopharmaceutical therapy research, and 2) whether there are important areas of technology development within the mission of the Department of Energy that the participants can specifically address and define. The workshop was held on July 14, 2003, in Washington D.C. Over 21 medical science experts from the US and Canada, representing academia, industry, and government, participated in the workshop. The participants discussed the current state of targeted radionuclide therapy including the “magic bullets” for cancer treatment, technical problems to be overcome in developing more effective radionuclide therapy agents, and the role of DOE as compared to NIH or industry in funding high risk/high impact technology innovations. The first yttrium-labeled monoclonal antibody, approved by FDA for the treatment of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and marketed under the trade name Zevalin by IDEC Pharmaceuticals, was discussed as one of the major developments in the field.