UK radioisotope project receives funding

The investment - from the Innovate UK Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Programme (SMMIP) - will see the United Kingdom National Nuclear Laboratory (UKNNL) and Medicines Discovery Catapult (MDC) use lead-212 to create treatments called Targeted Alpha Therapies. Targeted Alpha Therapy is an emerging form of high-precision targeted treatment which provides few side-effects, with particular interest in lead-212 which has a half-life of nearly 11 hours - as it decays its emissions can be used to target and destroy cancer cells without damaging the surrounding healthy tissue.

"A tiny amount of lead-212's parent material – equivalent to a single drop of water in an Olympic-sized swimming pool – is extracted through a series of chemical reactions," UKNNL said. "An even tinier amount of lead-212 is taken from this sample, which, when developed under the right conditions by scientists at MDC, could treat thousands of patients.

"The UK has large reserves of lead-212, meaning that this approach could be scaled up to power new cancer treatments for patients in the UK and worldwide. The funding from the SMMIP will develop the foundations needed to support clinical trials and bring these treatments to patients. This will unlock the UK's full potential as a global leader in this ground-breaking area of cancer care."

In January this year, a project by UKNNL and MDC to develop the case for scaling-up the harvesting of lead-212 from reprocessed uranium for use in treating cancer was among 15 projects selected by UK Research and Innovation to share GBP1.3 million in funding. UKNNL and MDC said they would "explore potential options for making the material available to researchers and drug development companies. The long-term aim is to enable commercial production and routine use within the NHS (National Health Service) for the benefit of patients and the development of a new community".

UKNNL - the government's lead civil national laboratory for nuclear fission - has been collaborating with researchers to enable access to radionuclides for investigations into new treatments and diagnosis, including for cancer, Alzheimer's and complex heart conditions. Researchers are keen to get materials to test and develop new treatments, and scale-up treatments where trials have been successful.

There have been on-going discussions in the UK about how the valuable radioisotopes in the nuclear legacy material in the country can be recognised and influence future plans for the material.

"Through access to the UK's sovereign supply of lead-212, we have a truly unique opportunity to transform our nuclear expertise into life-saving cancer treatments. Developed from recycled fuel that has already served the nation by powering homes, lead-212 can now serve us again by offering new hope to cancer patients," said UKNNL CEO Julianne Antrobus.

"UKNNL is proud to co-lead this pioneering programme alongside Medicines Discovery Catapult. By developing the infrastructure and processes to unlock the UK's lead-212 supply, we're not only advancing precision nuclear medicine but also reinforcing the UK's position as a world leader in both nuclear science and healthcare innovation. This investment will help us deliver treatments that could transform outcomes for patients with previously untreatable cancers, both here in the UK and globally."

Chris Molloy, CEO of Medicines Discovery Catapult, added: "Lead-212 is an untapped national asset with extraordinary medical potential. By developing therapies from this uniquely sustainable source, with no additional waste, our consortium has the ambition to improve cancer care for patients and to position Britain once again at the forefront of medicinal radiochemistry. But ambition alone isn't enough. We need the infrastructure to produce, trial, and scale this evergreen approach. The support from Innovate UK's Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Programme gives us the resources to realise our ambition, and is a clear signal that the UK is ready to innovate for patients here and around the world."

You can hear more about UKNNL's work getting value from legacy nuclear material in a World Nuclear News podcast from April 2024: