NuView Radiopharmaceuticals, Inc. Secures Exclusive Rights From Thomas Jefferson University for a Tumor-Specific Imaging Agent for the Diagnosis of Breast and Prosta...( PARK CITY Utah Feb. 6 /- NuView R...),Health

PARK CITY, Utah, Feb. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- NuView Radiopharmaceuticals, Inc. (NuView) has executed an agreement with Thomas Jefferson University (Jefferson) for the exclusive distribution and commercialization rights for a tumor-specific imaging agent that assists in the diagnosis of breast and prostate tumors. NuView also intends to sponsor research at Jefferson to further develop the technology.

Among U.S. men, prostate cancer (PC) accounts for 29% of all newly diagnosed cancers. Among U.S. women, breast cancer (BC) accounts for 27% of all newly diagnosed cancers. A reliable scintigraphic agent to image PC & BC and its metastatic or recurrent lesions and to determine the effectiveness of its treatment will contribute to the management of these diseases. All human tumors over-express vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating peptide (PACAP) receptors known as VPAC1, VPAC2 and PAC1. In vitro/in vivo evaluations are currently under way for specific peptide analogues for PET imaging of these cancers.

Matthew Thakur, M.D., Director of Radiopharmaceutical Research and Professor of Radiology and Radiation Oncology at Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and past President of the Society of Nuclear Medicine, has demonstrated the clinical potential for radiopharmaceutical imaging of breast, prostate, and lung cancers. Dr. Thakur and his team have been studying the binding of the small molecule peptide PACAP to vasoactive pituitary adenylate cyclase (VPAC) receptors expressed in high density on tumors.

"The need for clinically-useful, non-invasive molecular imaging techniques specific to breast and prostrate tumors is very great. Molecular imaging of these types of tumors could improve early diagnosis, staging, and monitoring of therapy in patients," says Dr. Thakur. Having tested radiolabeled PACAP as a non-invasive imaging agent in several clinical scenarios, particularly in early detection
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