UHN
Radiotheranostics
Core
The UHN Radiotheranostics Core (UHNRC) is a research core within the University Health Network (UHN) in Toronto, Canada.
About
The UHNRC provides radiopharmaceuticals for the investigational and commercial use from a facility operating in accordance with GMP regulations (Drug Establishment Licence).
Radiopharmaceuticals are part of an advanced imaging technology that uses medical isotopes to assess and treat patients at a cellular level. Using imaging radiopharmaceuticals, physicians can detect diseases earlier and more accurately monitor the effectiveness of treatments. Targeted therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals can be used to provide personalized treatment of cancers.
Team
Luke Brzozowski
Executive Director, Translational Research and Core Facilities, UHN
Julia Publicover
Director, Translational Research and Innovation, Techna, UHN
Ur
Metser
Division Head of Molecular Imaging, UHN
David Green
Staff Scientist, Techna, UHN
Carlos Varón
Clinical Engineer, UHN
Carlos
Ruiz
Engineering Technologist at Techna, UHN
Arthur
Wong
Financial Business Manager, UHN
Dragan Gligorov
Business Development Specialist, UHN
Shima Marand
Administrative Assistant II, UHN
News
UHN announces the launch of the PET tracer NETVISION™ (gallium (68Ga) oxodotreotide injection), for detection and localization of somatostatin receptor-positive neuroendocrine tumours (NETs).
Toronto, Ontario, Canada, May 1st 2023 – University Health Network (UHN), the largest research hospital in Canada, is pleased to announce the launch of NETVision™ (gallium (68Ga) oxodotreotide injection), a commercial diagnostic radiopharmaceutical. Prior to becoming a commercial product, this radiopharmaceutical had been manufactured as a clinical research product and has been supplied to Ontario patients.
NETVision is indicated for use with positron emission tomography (PET), as an adjunct to other diagnostic tests, for the detection and localization of somatostatin receptor-positive neuroendocrine tumours (NETs).
“We are delighted to launch NETVision out of UHN. We have no doubt that NETVision will benefit our patients and contribute to the growing Ontario radiophmarceutical ecosystem,” said Dr. Luke Brzozowski, Executive Director for Translational Research and Core Facilities at UHN.
NETs are a diverse and uncommon group of malignancies with an incidence of approximately 2 – 6/100,000 in Canada. NETs can be found in many locations, including the gastroenteropancreatic tract, respiratory system, and thyroid, or present as pheochromocytoma or paraganglioma.
Commercial approval of NETVision was based on a systematic literature review of patients with well-differentiated NET subtypes that overexpress somatostatin receptor subtype 2 (SSTR2). Oxodotreotide binds with nanomolar affinity to SSTR2 while Gallium-68, a positron-emitting radionuclide, allows PET imaging. Data from the literature showed strong diagnostic performance, with (depending on NET subtype) pooled median sensitivity of 91.5 – 100% and pooled median specificity of 89 – 100% to detect NETs. The safety profile was favorable with isolated reports of non-serious adverse drug reactions. For full prescribing information, please refer to the NETVision Product Monograph (available upon request from UHN).
NETVision is provided ready to use for intravenous injection.
“NETVision can be used to detect NETs in patients with clinical suspicion of a NET, accurately stage tumors at initial presentation and restage them at time of recurrence or progression to aid in optimally choosing next lines of therapy,” said Dr. Ur Metser, Division Head, Molecular Imaging, Site Director, Joint Department of Medical Imaging; Princess Margaret Cancer Centre
About UHN
University Health Network consists of Toronto General and Toronto Western Hospitals, the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, and The Michener Institute of Education at UHN. The scope of research and complexity of cases at University Health Network has made it a national and international source for discovery, education and patient care. It has the largest hospital-based research program in Canada, with major research in arthritis, cardiology, transplantation, neurosciences, oncology, surgical innovation, infectious diseases, genomic medicine and rehabilitation medicine. University Health Network is a research hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto.