Radiopharm Theranostics (ASX:RAD) - targeted cancer therapies

Radiopharm Theranostics (ASX:RAD) – targeted cancer therapies

Radiopharm Theranostics Limited (ASX:RAD) CEO and Managing Director Riccardo Canevari introduces the company, discussing the use of radiopharmaceuticals for cancer treatment and the company's upcoming trial in non-small cell lung cancer.

Melissa Darmawan: Thanks for tuning in. To talk about Radiopharm Theranostics (ASX:RAD) is Chief Executive Officer Riccardo Canevari, here in the Sydney studio. Riccardo, nice to see you.

Riccardo Canevari: Thank you, Melissa. So excited to be in Sydney.

Melissa Darmawan: It's great to have you from New York, and welcome back to the network.

Riccardo Canevari: Thank you.

Melissa Darmawan: The radiopharmaceutical industry is actually quite a new space. Can you explain in simple terms what it is?

Riccardo Canevari: Yes, absolutely. So, first of all, we all know somebody — in the family, among friends — that has been touched by cancer. And we know that, despite significant progress during the last decade or so, still there are unmet medical needs. Radiopharmaceuticals have been around for many, many years in the form of imaging, but what is new today are really the radiopharmaceutical therapies. So, many therapies today are effective, but also have some side effect. The approach of radiopharmaceutical therapy is kind of unique. They are very specific, very targeted, so they are able to reach the cancer cells without touching the healthy tissue or almost touching the healthy tissue. So, that's a very important approach.

Melissa Darmawan: I'm aware that you do have a world-class team of professionals. Can you give us some colour around that?

Riccardo Canevari: Yeah, we are a small team, but we are of course fully engaged. And we were able really to bring on board very talented people. We have our Chief Medical Officer, he's a professor of nuclear medicine from Cornell University in New York city. Our Chief Technical Office has huge experience in this space for many, many years. And we were able to attract to the company an additional four people very recently, all with great experience in clinical development.

Melissa Darmawan: So, no doubt, you're excited to announce this week your first clinical trial with GenesisCare. Can you tell us more about that?

Riccardo Canevari: Absolutely Melissa. So, we decided to start this trial in Australia. We looked at the multiple companies and very strong expertise that there is in radiopharmaceuticals here in Sydney, in Melbourne, and in other cities. We selected GenesisCare as a strong partner to start this trial. And this is very important, because it will be the first trial with a targeted radiopharmaceutical in non-small cell lung cancer. This is the most common lung cancer. There is a significant unmet medical need. So, we are really bringing innovation to the country, we are really bringing innovation to the patient and this is what is really important for us.

Melissa Darmawan: That's very exciting. So, how long do you think the first clinical trial phase will go for?

Riccardo Canevari: So probably in two, three months from now, our clinical trial will be able to recruit the first patient. Of course, we are looking to have approval. Very important for the ethical committee to be allowed to be started soon. And usually this trial can last 12 months, 15 months. So in 2023, probably around mid-2023, we will have the first results of this trial. And we really hope that it will be encouraging to move the development of this technology to the next steps.

Melissa Darmawan: Last question. Apart from lung cancer, what other disease areas could your therapies be used for?

Riccardo Canevari: We have a very deep pipeline beyond the possibility to treat lung cancer. Our technology can be applied in other disease area like breast cancer, like prostate cancer, pancreatic cancer, head and neck. So, our focus is really to bring our clinical development into phase 1 and beyond, because there is such an unmet medical need for patients suffering from multiple oncological disease that we are happy and keen to give our contribution.

Melissa Darmawan: Riccardo, it was great to speak with you today. Thank you so much for your insights. And I look forward to seeing this all unfold.

Riccardo Canevari: Thanks a lot, Melissa. Thanks for having me.

Source: Finance News Network