GE HealthCare touts its leading role in $27.8M initiative to expand theranostics use
GE HealthCare is touting its leading role in a nearly $27.8 million initiative to expand the use of theranostics.
The project gathers 29 partners from top European academic and clinical sites, businesses and patient advocacy groups. Their goal is to broaden the delivery of theranostics, which integrate imaging diagnostics and targeted therapeutics for personalized treatment of different diseases.
This “breakthrough approach” is already used to treat late-stage prostate and neuroendocrine cancers, GE noted. However, theranostics treatments are only available in a small number of specialized centers, with “critical” need to expand indications and delivery in community sites.
“Thera4Care” aims to strengthen the adoption of radiology-based diagnostics and therapies. It will focus on diseases—such as sarcomas and cancers of the prostate, ovaries and pancreas—that align with available radiotheranostics solutions. GE HealthCare noted that it is already able to support steps along the therapeutic pathway, including cyclotrons and PET and SPECT imaging scanners.
“We are thrilled to play a leading role in Thera4Care, a unique collaboration of academic and industry partners who share a common goal to advance connected, personalized and compassionate cancer care,” Ben Newton, PhD, GE HealthCare’s general manager for oncology solutions, said in an Oct. 7 announcement. “Our collective efforts are designed to improve healthcare system readiness for this rapidly growing field of precision medicine.”
With the grant, Thera4Care will aim to expand the European network of isotope manufacturing practices, develop next-generation SPECT-CT imaging scanners, build AI-based clinical decision support tools, and create a methodology framework for personalized dosimetry. Partners come from 14 European countries and the U.S. The project is co-funded under the Horizon Europe Framework and is part of the Innovative Health Initiative, a public-private partnership between the European Union and the local life science industry.
GE HealthCare also previously announced a strategic collaboration with Mayo Clinic to develop new innovations in medical imaging and theranostics.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.