Background
Advances in nuclear medicine have opened possibilities to generate unprecedented solutions to clinical problems by providing better diagnosis and more efficient therapies. Emerging new radiopharmaceuticals and efficient production of relevant radioisotopes have been always tightly linked to these developments.
Impressive technologies including high-energy and high-current accelerators are now becoming available for radioisotope production in addition to the existing ones. This has allowed broader access to several promising radionuclides, including gallium-68, copper-64 and zirconium-89. Development of high-power electron linacs resulted in the production of therapeutic radionuclides such as scandium-47, actinium-225, and copper-67. Alternative methods, using both electron and proton accelerators, are being developed for large scale production of molybdenum-99/technetium-99m, which remains the most widely used diagnostic radionuclide.
Beta emitters, such as iodine-131, lutetium-177, samarium-153, yittrium-90 and some others, are already established radionuclides for therapy. Clinical success of radiolabelled peptides and enzyme inhibitors for cancer treatment has resulted in increasing worldwide demand of lutetium-177 over the last decade. Targeted alpha therapy is another pertinent field for radioisotope producers, researchers, and nuclear medicine physicians. Some years ago, the first α-emitting radiopharmaceutical, radium-223 dichloride solution (pharmaceutical-grade), was approved by the US FDA for cancer treatment and many other α-emitting radionuclides, for example actinium-225, astatine-211, bismuth-212, bismuth-213, lead-212, thorium-227, and terbium-149, are being explored for radiopharmaceutical developments. Actinium-225 is one of such promising α-emitting radionuclides and current demand for actinium-225 significantly exceeds its availability. Numerous research groups worldwide are working on efficient production of these much sought after α-emitters.
The field of radiopharmaceuticals has witnessed continuous evolution, starting from simple ionic radioiodine to coordination complexes of technetium-99m radiopharmaceuticals. Today, a variety of PET radioligands as well as theranostic and therapeutic agents are evaluated for their potential clinical applications. Several milestones can be cited in the trajectory of this growth, which include novel radiochemistry methods developed for radiolabelling of variety of ligands with different radionuclides, automated process developments, availability of nonclinical evaluation techniques, thanks to the immense contributions of scientists from diverse disciplines. The concept of theranostic radioisotopes, that combines the diagnosis and therapy properties of one radioisotope or a pair of radioisotopes with chemical similarity, is an attractive paradigm for future developments in medical applications of radionuclides. Suitable biomolecules for therapy which can bind specific cellular targets, when labelled with theranostic radionuclides provide radionuclide therapy opportunities with clinically significance for diagnosis, dosimetry, and post therapy planning, making personalised medicine a reality.
Purpose and Objectives
The International Symposium on Trends in Radiopharmaceuticals, ISTR-2023, will provide scientists and other professionals working in the fields of production of radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals an international forum for discussing the most recent developments and challenges in the field. Various topics will be covered during the Symposium including development, production, and uses of diagnostic, therapeutic, and theranostic radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals, as well as regulatory and licensing issues. Education, certification, and training methodologies will also be addressed. We expect participants from academia, industry, healthcare institutions, regulatory bodies, and other organizations.
The ISTR-2023 will provide a great opportunity for chemists, biologists, pharmacists, physicists, medical researchers, and other experts in the international community to meet and discuss their most recent work. This meeting will help maintain existing and establish new collaborations to address common problems and expand the worldwide developments and use of radiopharmaceuticals.
Expected Outcomes
The symposium will be an effective platform for interactions among the participants, IAEA and industries in the field, for the following (but not limited to) outcomes:
-Knowledge sharing for all participating Member States
-Networking and initiation of cooperation and future activities in the field of radioisotopes and radiopharmaceuticals production and research
-Providing an overview of available technology through industry exhibits
