Talk Radioisotopes: Going Nuclear on Cancer
Talk Radioisotopes: Going Nuclear on Cancer
Podcast Description
Radioisotopes are revolutionizing how cancers are detected and treated. But how do they work? And where is this field headed?
Whether you’re a healthcare professional, researcher, pharma exec, or industry analyst, this podcast is a go-to resource for the rapidly evolving radiopharmaceuticals landscape.
Welcome to Talk Radioisotopes: Going Nuclear on Cancer. We’ll take a look at the latest insights, trends and developments working to change patient outcomes and supply the fight against cancer.
Join host Scott Larrivee and experts from across the industry, as they break down the science, shed light on real-world opportunities, and take a peek behind the curtain at the people, companies, and programs driving innovation in nuclear medicine. This is Talk Radioisotopes: Going Nuclear on Cancer.
Brought to you by the team at Nusano.
Podcast Insights
Content Themes
The podcast centers on the evolving field of radiopharmaceuticals, covering essential topics such as targeted radiotherapies, regulatory challenges, and isotope supply chains. For example, episodes may delve into the implications of new isotopes for personalized cancer treatments or the impact of pharmaceutical companies entering the market.
Radioisotopes are revolutionizing how cancers are detected and treated. But how do they work? And where is this field headed?
Whether you’re a healthcare professional, researcher, pharma exec, or industry analyst, this podcast is a go-to resource for the rapidly evolving radiopharmaceuticals landscape.
Welcome to Talk Radioisotopes: Going Nuclear on Cancer. We’ll take a look at the latest insights, trends and developments working to change patient outcomes and supply the fight against cancer.
Join host Scott Larrivee and experts from across the industry, as they break down the science, shed light on real-world opportunities, and take a peek behind the curtain at the people, companies, and programs driving innovation in nuclear medicine. This is Talk Radioisotopes: Going Nuclear on Cancer.
Brought to you by the team at Nusano.
What if the scan that finds a tumor could also show exactly where the treatment will go? That idea drives dGenThera, co-founded by CEO Louis Metzger. Louis joins Scott Larrivee to explain how his team is making it happen.
Louis trained as a biochemist at Duke and UCSF before leading discovery work at Novartis. He and his co-founders developed chemistry that keeps halogen emitters firmly attached to their targeting molecules, opening the door to imaging and therapeutic agents that are nearly identical.
Louis also makes the case for astatine-211, an isotope he believes is ready for a much bigger role in alpha therapy, and explains why its supply story may surprise listeners. Scott and Louis also discuss what’s ahead for dGenThera, how the company has moved forward in a difficult funding climate, and where Louis sees radiopharma heading over the next five years.
You’ll gain insights into:
- Why closely matched diagnostic and therapeutic pairs can de-risk a program before it reaches human trials
- How At-211’s scalability could lower costs and widen access to targeted alpha therapy
- What small molecules offer for solid tumors and brain indications that chelated metals can’t
- How a funding drought pushed one startup toward bootstrapping and partnerships
Chapters:
(00:00) Introduction
(01:07) Founding dGenThera
(03:32) The Core Chemistry Advantage
(05:42) What Matched Theranostics Actually Means
(08:12) Crossing the Blood-Brain Barrier With Small Molecules
(10:52) Why Astatine-211?
(14:16) Scaling the At-211 Supply Chain
(20:16) How dGenThera Buckets Its Assets
(26:02) The Speed Advantage of the Tagging Platform
(27:57) Roadmap & Partnerships
(33:09) The Five-Year Radiopharma Future
(36:18) The Biggest Roadblock: Dosimetry
About Louis:
Louis Metzger, PhD, is co-founder and CEO of dGenThera, a biotechnology company developing next-generation targeted radiotherapeutics for cancer. He trained as a biochemist at Duke University and did his postdoctoral work at UCSF. He then spent several years at Novartis, where he led an antibacterial discovery team. Before co-founding dGenThera, he served as chief scientific officer at Tiara Biosciences. His expertise covers both small molecule and protein chemistry. At dGenThera, he brings that range together with his co-founders’ work in medicinal chemistry, halogen catalysis, and radiochemistry.
Guest Highlights:
“Our big vision is that anywhere that you can get an F-18 PET scan, you can then get a matched targeted alpha therapeutic.”
“More money by far has been invested in the infrastructure to produce At-211 at scale than has been invested in companies making molecules bearing At-211.”
“If you can make these molecules quickly cleared, you can get in, hit it hard, get out.”
Get Connected:
- Louis Metzger: https://www.linkedin.com/in/louismetzger4/?isSelfProfile=false
- Scott Larrivee: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottlarrivee/
- dGenThera: https://dgenthera.com/
- Discover more at http://Talkradioisotopes.com
Our Sponsor:
‘Talk Radioisotopes: Going Nuclear on Cancer’ is brought to you by Nusano, a physics company whose breakthrough technologies are poised to help supply the fight against cancer and enable innovation across multiple industries. Find out more at Nusano.com.
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