On the afternoon of February 18, a delegation from the Institute for Energy and Nuclear Research (IPEN), linked to the National Nuclear Energy Commission (CNEN), visited the University of Campinas (Unicamp), in Campinas (SP), to learn about the infrastructure of the laboratories and units where CEPID CancerThera research is developed and to discuss cooperation opportunities. The previous month, a group of principal investigators from CancerThera had been welcomed by the IPEN team for the same purpose at the University of São Paulo (USP) campus, in São Paulo.
At Unicamp, the IPEN team visited several laboratories at the Institute of Chemistry (IQ), the Gleb Wataghin Institute of Physics (IFGW), and the School of Medical Sciences (FCM), as well as the radiopharmacy unit of the Nuclear Medicine Service at the Hospital de Clínicas. At the end of the visit, a meeting was held in the Hemocenter’s multimedia room to discuss numerous collaboration possibilities.
The IPEN delegation included Dr. Isolda Costa, chemical engineer, director and superintendent of IPEN, and technical-scientific director of the Brazilian Nuclear Energy Association; Dr. Elaine Bortoleti de Araújo, pharmacist, biochemist, researcher and professor at IPEN; and Dr. Wilson Aparecido Parejo Calvo, materials engineer and director of Research and Development at CNEN.
“The infrastructure of the various departments involved is excellent and complementary, not to mention the knowledge level of the lead researchers. I left very impressed and eager to be part of this story that is being written,” said Costa.
Araújo added: “The infrastructure of the Chemistry laboratories is impressive, with state-of-the-art equipment for the analysis of new compounds and highly committed professionals.” She also highlighted that there are areas of CancerThera that align with IPEN’s activities in Radiopharmacy, especially in the development of new ligands, radiolabeling methods, and preclinical and clinical studies.
Permanent dialogue in service of life
The visit, beyond presenting the university’s infrastructure to the IPEN delegation, aimed to evaluate cooperation opportunities between the institutions, combining efforts in Radiopharmacy, Nuclear Medicine, and Oncology, encompassing research, education, and innovation. Strengthening collaboration between the institutions could also help address regulatory challenges.
“The joint effort for the development of new radiopharmaceuticals will be our main focus, as well as training human resources in this field. CancerThera can collaborate with IPEN by adding infrastructure capacity, specific knowledge, and by sharing researchers with high expertise,” Costa explained.
“This multidisciplinary nature of the specialists, along with cutting-edge multi-user equipment for analyzing and characterizing molecules and compounds that form radiopharmaceuticals, ensures sustainability and innovation at CEPID CancerThera in service of life,” emphasized Calvo.
Dr. Celso Dario Ramos, nuclear physician, principal investigator, and deputy director of the CancerThera executive committee, highlighted the importance of the partnership: “Expectations for collaboration are very high because IPEN has the structure, experience, and tradition in radiopharmaceutical production. Their participation in CancerThera would be extremely beneficial, and we can offer, in return, the university’s hospital infrastructure.”
“IPEN can help us supply radiopharmaceuticals such as 177Lu-PSMA, and we can offer infrastructure and support for clinical research. There are also opportunities in education, allowing students to move between institutions,” explained Dr. Carmino Antonio de Souza, onco-hematologist, principal investigator, and executive committee director of CancerThera. “We have enormous respect and admiration for IPEN and CNEN, which are key entities for the development of the nuclear field in Brazil, especially in Nuclear Medicine,” he noted.
During the final discussions, the “Multicenter Program using PSMA radioligands for the diagnosis and therapy of patients with prostate cancer” (FAPESP, process number 2020/07065-4) was highlighted — a clinical project already underway, coordinated by Calvo and conducted through a partnership between IPEN/CNEN and hospitals and universities in the state of São Paulo, including Unicamp’s Hospital de Clínicas, Barretos Cancer Hospital, the Hospital das Clínicas of the USP Medical School, and the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp). The program focuses on developing a new radiopharmaceutical, expanding therapeutic alternatives for patients unresponsive to current treatments in São Paulo’s State Health Department and the Unified Health System, by introducing cutting-edge therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals, such as 177Lu-PSMA, to be distributed to the mentioned partner network.
“This project will offer a better therapeutic option to these patients in the state of São Paulo and will advance our understanding of the factors that determine resistance of these tumors to the most modern available treatments,” explained Calvo. Araújo emphasized the importance of this cooperation to move forward to Phase 2 of the clinical study: “Unicamp’s Nuclear Medicine sector is an ‘open door’ in the public healthcare sector for clinical projects evaluating new radiopharmaceuticals or new indications for radiopharmaceuticals already used in clinical routine.”
Text and photos: Romulo Santana Osthues
