Radiation Therapy Based on Alpha Particles for Solid Cancer
Market Background
Cancer is the second leading cause of death globally and is estimated to account for 9.6 million death in 2018. Among solid cancers, lung, prostate, colorectal, stomach and liver cancer are the most common types of colid tumorsancer in men, while breast, colorectal, lung, cervix and thyroid cancer are the most common among women. Therefore, this company has developed Alpha Diffusing Alpha-emitters Radiation Therapy for the treatment of solid cancers.
Project Introduction
Alpha particles are known to be highly destructive to cancerous cells regardless of their cell cycle stage or level of oxygenation. Alpha particles directly damage the cell DNA, creating complex doublestrand breaks that are lethal to the tumor. However, the short range of alpha particles in tissue had made them rare candidates for treating solid tumors. Alpha Diffusing Alpha-Emitters Radiation Therapy enables the use of alpha particles for the treatment of solid tumors.
The treatment is delivered by intratumoral insertion of the seeds which are similar in size and shape to fiducial markers. The seed’s surface contains Radium-224 which has a halflife of 3.7 days. When the Radium decays, its short-lived daughters are released from the seed, disperse in the tumor and emit high-energy alpha particles which destroy the tumor. Since alpha particles are so potent, the total activity on each seed is very low. Hence, the overall exposure to gamma radiation is negligible and neither affects the surrounding tissue nor the patient’s health.
Core Advantages
- Highly potent and conformal.
- Proven efficacy for all solid tumors tested.
- Effective regardless of tumor oxygen level.
- Short half-life – quick clinical outcome.
- Single-session treatment.
- Enables combination with other therapies or re-application.
- No negative systemic effects, safety for both patient and clinician.
- No capital or shielding equipment.
Team Member
Uzi, CEO and Chairman
Uzi specializes in medical devices development, regulation, reimbursement and marketing and has 20 years of experience in business across different industries including homeland security, manufacturing and trading. He held executive positions in public and private enterprises, including chairman, CEO, CFO and board member, and has wide experience with the capital market, IPOs, secondary offering and mergers and acquisitions.
Professor Itzhak, Ph.D.
The inventor of the technology. Prof. Itzhak is a retired Chairman of the Tel Aviv University. He has held research and teaching positions at the Weizmann Institute, Yale University, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and other institutions.
Professor Yona, Ph.D., Chief Biomedical Officer
A member of the Human Microbiology Department, Tel Aviv University. His studies focus on in-situdestruction of solid metastatic tumors in order to stimulate anti-tumor immune reactivity and eradicate metastases. He was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Tumor Biology Department, National Cancer Institute of the NIH, Bethesda, USA.
Project Need
Looking for Chinese partners:
- To handle the entire local regulations permit, approval and medical insurance compensation process (medical equipment, nuclear safety, clinical trials)
- Establish a local production base to serve the Chinese market. Experience in handling radioactive materials is needed.
- Marketing this treatment in China.