Anton Shargin, Deputy Director General for Commercial Affairs, Isotope JSC in an interaction with Express Healthcare explains the role of Ga-68 generators and its uses in oncology and also highlights the long-term goals or vision of Rosatom in terms of its presence in the global nuclear medicine market
Could you explain the role of Ge-68/Ga-68 generators in nuclear medicine and how they are used to diagnose oncological diseases?
Ga-68 generators play a crucial role in nuclear medicine, particularly in the field of oncology. These generators are used to elute a radioactive isotope called Gallium-68 (Ga-68) for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging. Ga-68 has a half-life of 68 minutes. The concept of the generator-based production provides the affordability and accessibility of this life saving isotope in every corner of world. This isotope can be used to label different small molecules and peptides to image various cancers and metastasis. Among the most popular applications are prostate cancer and neuroendocrine tumours imaging. Ga-68 based cancer imaging helps to get highly precise estimations.
Can you provide more details about the recent shipment of germanium-68/gallium-68 generators to India by Isotope JSC?
Recently Isotope JSC (part of ROSATOM) together with our Indian partner, Esente Healthcare, based at Bangalore, has got necessary marketing approvals for our generator from Indian Drug authority. Also, it’s worth mentioning that, Esente developed a cutting-edge indigenous Gallium radiolabeling technology for which our generator is suitable. This technology has played a pivotal role in changing the concept of Gallium radiopharmaceutical preparation. Our strong supply chain and capacity to deliver the generators within a short period of time helps our local partner to improve the accessibility and affordability of Ga-68 scans even in remote areas.
How many Ge-68/Ga-68 generators will Isotope JSC be supplying to India under the new contract, and what is the expected timeline for delivery?
Unfortunately, we cannot share the exact details due to the terms of the contract. The shipments have already started and Isotope JSC will supply few dozen Ge-68/Ga-68 generators within this year.
Are there any plans for further collaborations or partnerships between Rosatom and Indian entities in the field of nuclear medicine?
Alongside Ge-68/Ga-68 generators, we supply to India other isotope products for nuclear medicine such as Mo-99 for example. We are also discussing with Indian partners the possibilities of expanding or supplies portfolio and we are looking for opportunities to promote new products.
Can you comment on the long-term goals or vision of Rosatom in terms of its presence in the global nuclear medicine market?
One of the top-priority activities of Rosatom is to ensure uninterrupted supply of both raw and ready to use isotope products for healthcare, science and industry. Isotope JSC, the official supplier of ROSATOM isotope products, is among the main players at the domestic and international market with more than 50 years of experience in this area. At present, the partners of Isotope JSC are represented by more than 170 foreign companies located in 50 countries of the world.
Radiopharmaceuticals today represent more than 75 per cent of the total isotope market turnover. Within the confines of Rosatom’s activities around the development of nuclear medicine nationwide, Rosatom has more than 10 facilities involved in medical isotopes manufacturing and 3 plants that supply ready to use medical products. One of the core products in nuclear medicine is Molybdenum-99, manufactured at 2 Rosatom`s plants. Molybdenum-99 is used for the production of Technetium-99m (Tc-99m) generators, this being the main diagnostic radionuclide in nuclear medicine, and is supplied not only to Russian customers but also to foreign markets. Currently Tc-99m is used to diagnose a number of human illnesses, first and foremost, oncological and cardiovascular.
Today, Rosatom is building one of the largest plants in Europe for production of radiopharmaceuticals in Obninsk. In 2025, 21 production lines will provide radiopharmaceutical products for diagnostics and therapy of a wide range of severe diseases including irresectable metastatic cancer types.
The location of the production facility in Obninsk gives an advantage in logistics, opening opportunities for prompt supplies of radiopharmaceuticals to medical institutions across the country and around the world.
Are there any other upcoming initiatives or projects in the pipeline related to isotope supplies or nuclear medicine collaborations between Russia and India?
The nuclear medicine market is rapidly expanding in India and we are interested in further development of cooperation with Indian partners and Rosatom will be pleased to explore different opportunities of new joint projects. We believe that together we will achieve high results.