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1rem

Accurately targeted immunotherapies through reliable neoantigen recognition enable personalized medicine development.

Research into Cold Cancers Heating Up

Activation and expansion are essential for success in both autologous and allogeneic therapies.

Development of Gamma-Delta T-Cell Therapies

Continuous manufacturing and a quality-by-design development approach are a natural fit.

QbD for Small-Molecule Continuous Process Development

Podcast will explore the technical aspects and advantages of messenger RNA (mRNA) as the basis for therapeutics in cancer treatment as well as vaccines. Based off the success of the mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines, the biopharma industry is responding with enthusiasm and intense focus on the development of mRNA-based therapeutics for diseases. An area of particular challenge is the delivery of the mRNA therapeutic in vivo. Formulation solutions, such as encapsulating the mRNA within a lipid nanoparticle (LNP) structure, has proven effective. Here, Stefaan De Koker, vice-president of Technology and Innovation, etherna, goes into more detail about the benefits and challenges of developing mRNA-based therapeutics for oncology and vaccines, and discusses the practical application of LNPs toward that goal.

Stefaan De Koker, Vice-President Technology and Innovation, etherna

Stefaan De Koker holds a master in Bioengineering and obtained his PhD at the lab for Molecular Immunology at Ghent University. Throughout his career, he has had a keen interest in understanding how activation of the innate immune system shapes the adaptive immune system and in translating this knowledge into improved vaccines and immunotherapies. De Koker became involved early in the messenger RNA (mRNA) therapeutics field and published seminal papers on the mode-of-action of mRNA vaccines, on the usage of mRNA for intratumoral immunomodulation, and on the development of novel delivery vehicles for mRNA therapeutics. In September 2016, De Kokerjoined ethernawhere he leads the Technology and Innovation team. His focus is currently on the design of customized mRNA lipid-based nanoparticles (cLNPs) for extrahepatic delivery, immunomodulation, and gene editing. De Koker has authored more than 60 publications and is co-inventor on more than 15 patent applications.

 presents the Drug Solutions podcast, where the editors will chat with industry experts from across the pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical supply chain. Join us as experts share insights into your biggest questions—from the technologies, to strategies, to regulations related to the development and manufacture of drug products.

Podcasts

In this episode fo the Drug Solutions Podcast, etherna’s vice-president of Technology and Innovation, Stefaan De Koker, discusses the merits and challenges of using mRNA as the foundation for therapeutics in oncology as well as for vaccines.

Drug Solutions Podcast: A Closer Look at mRNA in Oncology and Vaccines

Podcast will give an overview of the latest analytical tools and their applications in the drug development market, covering topics such as the current implementation of capillary electrophoresis, the impact of emerging therapies on innovation, and the ethical and regulatory considerations in ongoing drug development.

Dr. Jan Bekker, Vice President of Business Development, Commercial and Technical Operations at BioCina.

Jan Bekker, Vice President of Business Development, Commercial and Technical Operations at BioCina, boasts over 20 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical field, with notable tenures at Pfizer, Hospira, Centre for Marine Bioproducts Development, Stellenbosch University, and the Queensland University of Technology. With a background enriched by a Ph.D. from Stellenbosch University and an MBA from the University of New South Wales, Jan tailors programs spanning pre-clinical to commercial manufacturing phases, enhancing BioCina's business development through his comprehensive industry insight and technical expertise.

In this episode of the Drug Solutions Podcast, Jan Bekker, Vice President of Business Development, Commercial and Technical Operations at BioCina, discusses the latest analytical tools and their applications in the drug development market.

Drug Solutions Podcast: Applying Appropriate Analytics to Drug Development

In this episode of the Drug Solutions podcast, Jill Murphy, Editor, speaks with Dr. Graziella Piras, senior director of Strategic Marketing at 908 Devices, about drug development, specifically related to monitoring bioprocess parameters and other important technologies important to moving the process forward.

Graziella has over 15 years of experience in developing products, applications, and solutions for upstream bioprocessing. Before joining 908 Devices, she held various positions in marketing and R&D at Thermo Fisher Scientific, leading projects to support the Cell Culture and Cell Therapy business.

Graziella obtained her Ph.D. in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology in Belgium. She did her postdoc studying the role of epigenetic regulation on cancer and development at the National Cancer Institutes in Maryland.

Drug Solutions Podcast: Breaking Through the Barriers of Drug Development

In this episode of the Drug Solutions podcast, Felicity Thomas, European/Senior Editor, talks to David Tisi, technical director at Senopsys LLC, and Reenal Gandhi, global business development director for the Prescription Division of 

. In the first segment of the episode, David chats about some of the key challenges impacting oral dosage forms and the approaches and solutions available that are helping developers overcome these hurdles. After, Reenal details the intricacies of intranasal drug dosage forms, such as the convenience and the growth of this route of administration, challenges of development, and the possibilities of repositioning drug products.

David Tisi, technical director at Senopsys LLC

David is founding member of the scientific team at Senopsys LLC, a specialty services firm dedicated to the development of palatable drug products. He has over 15 years of experience in taste assessment and taste masking novel drug formulations for children and adults, leveraging his background in sensory science and food chemistry. David received his Masters in Food Science from Cornell University and began his career in product innovation at PepsiCo and Nestle.

Reenal Gandhi, global business development director for the Prescription Division of 

Reenal has more than 15 years’ experience within the drug delivery and pharmaceutical industries, involved in the development and commercialization of wide-ranging drug delivery solutions. Over the course of her career, Reenal has actively worked on business development related to nasal and injectable devices, such as prefilled syringes and autoinjectors. Since December 2020, Reenal has been working for Aptar Pharma, driving the assessment of new opportunities and focusing on new technologies in particular.

In this episode, David Tisi and Reenal Gandhi provide expert insights into advances and innovations changing the drug dosage form landscape.

Drug Solutions Podcast: Innovations and Advances in Drug Dosage Forms

In this episode of the Drug Solutions Podcast, Grant Playter, associate editor, speaks with Jeff Fischer, co-founder and president of Longhorn Vaccines and Diagnostics, on the history and ongoing development of both protein- and mRNA-based vaccines. Topics of discussion include recent vaccine approvals, the broader state of the vaccine industry, and ideal use cases for both vaccine formulations.

Jeff Fischer, co-founder and president, Longhorn Vaccines and Diagnostics

Jeff Fischer, MBA, is the President of Longhorn and is responsible for oversight of all non-scientific aspects of the organization to include regulatory affairs. Jeff co-founded the company and has served as its Chief Financial Officer from 2007-2017. From 1998-2005, Jeff served as an executive vice president and CFO in the biotechnology industry. He is a former infantry officer in the United States Marine Corps and holds an MBA from the University of Texas at Austin.

Jeff Fischer, co-founder and president of Longhorn Vaccines and Diagnostics, discusses the history and ongoing development of both protein- and mRNA-based vaccines.

Drug Solutions Podcast: Evaluating the Vaccine Marketplace

In this episode of the Drug Solutions podcast, Felicity Thomas, European/Senior Editor, talks to Hanns-Christian Mahler, CEO and board member, and Andrea Allmendinger, chief scientific officer, both at ten23 health—a contract development and manufacturing organization dedicated to human-centric and sustainable pharmaceutical development—about some of the hurdles facing developers and manufacturers of biological therapies. Hanns-Christian and Andrea take a closer look at some of the solutions being used within industry to overcome these challenges and focus on the issue of sustainability within this sphere. Finally, they touch upon some of the other potentially important future trends that will impact biologic drug development and manufacturing.

Hanns-Christian Mahler is Chief Enablement Officer (CEO) & Board Member, ten23 health

. Mahler’s previous roles include the head of Drug Product Services at Lonza, head of Pharmaceutical Development and Supplies at Roche, and principal scientist of Pharmaceutical Development and CMC Project Manager Erbitux for Merck KGaA. He holds a PhD in Toxicology from the Institute of Pharmacy at the University of Mainz and is an adjunct faculty member and lecturer at the universities of Frankfurt and Basel. He obtained his venia legendi (German Habilitation) from the University of Frankfurt/M. in 2011. Mahler also serves on the boards of Bionter and KriyaBio, and is an editor for several pharmaceutical journals.

Andrea Allmendinger, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer at ten23 health.

 Dr Allmendinger is also Adjunct Professor and Group Leader at the University of Freiburg (Baden-Württemberg, Germany), researching novel parenteral drug formulations and device solutions to improve stability, usability and cost of goods. Between 2010 and 2021, she was Principal Scientist, Pharmaceutical Development at Roche, working on, inter alia, manufacturability and injectability of high-concentration protein formulations, formulation and process development of freeze dried formulations, syringe and high volume drug/device combination products, particulates and surfactant strategy. Dr Allmendinger studied Pharmacy at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, and University College London, UK, and holds a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from the University of Basel, Switzerland. She obtained the venia legendi (German Habilitation) from the University of Freiburg in 2021, and serves as Editor-In-Chief for the AAPS Open Journal.

In this episode, Hanns-Christian Mahler and Andrea Allmendinger from ten23 health will discuss some key aspects of biologic drug development and manufacturing.

Drug Solutions Podcast: Considering Biologic Drug Development and Manufacturing Holistically

In this episode of the Drug Solutions podcast, Felicity Thomas, European/Senior Editor, talks to Rhonda Henry, President of Emmes’ BioPharma Group, and Adam Mendizabal, VP and Director of Emmes’ Cell and Gene Therapy Center, about the role contract research organizations (CROs) play in cell and gene therapy development. Rhonda and Adam will discuss the key factors and solutions driving growth in the CRO market with a particular emphasis on cell and gene therapies entering development pipelines, and will address some of the challenges facing the industry and best practices to ensure these limitations are overcome.

Rhonda Henry is the President of Emmes’ BioPharma Group

. She holds a B.S. in nursing from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. Rhonda joined Emmes with 30 years of clinical research experience holding a number of leadership positions in clinical operations, patient centricity and strategic partnerships at PPD.Before her entry into clinical research, Henry served as a nurse at New Hanover Regional Medical Center. In 2020, she was named to the PharmaVOICE 100 list of most inspiring people working in the life-sciences industry. She has been active in a number of non-profit organizations, including her current position as chair of the board of directors for The Carousel Center, a nationally accredited child advocacy center serving New Hanover, Brunswick, and Pender counties.

Adam Mendizabal, PhD is the VP and Director of Emmes’ Cell and Gene Therapy Center

. He joined Emmes in 2002 and has progressively increased responsibilities from a Biostatistician and Sr Investigator to his current role leading the expansion and of the cell and gene therapy clinical trial portfolio at Emmes. During his time at Emmes, Adam has co-authored publications across different therapeutic areas that have focused on cell and gene therapies. He received his Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences from Rutgers College in 2000, a Master’s degree in Statistics from Rutgers University in 2002, and a PhD in Epidemiology from The George Washington University in 2014.

In this episode, Rhonda Henry and Adam Mendizabal from Emmes discuss the role CROs play in cell and gene therapies undergoing clinical trials at all stages.

Drug Solutions Podcast: How CROs Adapt Themselves in the Ever-Changing Landscape of Cell and Gene Therapies

In this episode of the Drug Solutions podcast, Felicity Thomas, European/Senior Editor, catches up with Ana Ladino, Ashland’s Global Director—Regulatory Affairs, about the acceptance of a novel excipient onto CDER’s pilot review program, the next steps involved in progressing an excipient through the review program, and the change in industry’s mindset toward review programs in general.

Ana L. Ladino is Ashland’s Global Director-Regulatory Affairs

. As senior leader of the regulatory affairs function, she manages strategic direction and operational oversight for the regulatory activities for all Ashland’s Life Sciences products: excipients and other oral solid dosage ingredients and coatings, injectables, nutrition, nutraceuticals, agrochemicals, and medical devices. She oversees all FDA and other global regulatory authority interactions for Ashland’s products while ensuring a high level of integrity in regulatory and quality compliance. With 25 years of experience in the healthcare industry, she has extensive experience in drugs, combination products, medical devices, excipients, and API regulatory requirements. She has been involved in industry organizations such as RAPS, IPEC, AAM, ISO, NEMA, authored many global regulatory-related papers, and presents worldwide on various regulatory topics. She served on the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association (HBA)—West Chester Board.

Ana holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a master’s degree in biomedical engineering from Autonomous University of the West (UAO), in Cali, Colombia. In the past, she has worked for West Pharmaceuticals, Accellent, Siemens, GE Medical, and as a university professor.

In this episode, Ana Ladino provides an update on the acceptance of a novel excipient onto CDER’s pilot program.

Drug Solutions Podcast: Progressing Excipients Through Review

PR agencies perspectives lightening round: buy/hold/sell on mRNA beyond Vaccines, Organ on a chip, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine learning (ML), Viral Vector Yield Improvements, Quality Management Maturity (QMM), Near Patient Manufacturing. The role of a PR agency dissected: are you a coach, a resource, a creative inspiration, a connector, a battering ram, secret sauce, an authoritative stakeholder, experienced guide? How has getting a message out has changed in the last 5 -10 years for pharmaceutical companies. What pharma industry trends do you see as important and want to emphasize, or are simply excited by?

Debra Harrsch, President and CEO, Brandwidth Solutions

Brandwidth Solutions’ holistic approach to scalable, science-focused, and customized marketing starts with in-depth industry knowledge and the full scope of services that enable you to get where you need to go. We speak science®.

Beth Willers, Principal, White Matter Communications

WMC was built to deliver a different type of agency experience to the B2B Life Sciences mark.et. Our focus is on developing quality content while building good habits across the PESO spectrum and making deeper connections both internally and externally to sustain a healthy brand evolution.

Kevin McCarthy, Senior Consultant, Orientation Marketing

Orientation Marketing is a life science and pharmaceutical marketing agency operating within specialist B2B scientific sectors. We help drug, ingredients, packaging, medical technology, contract manufacturing, development and research organisations uncover marketing opportunities to become visible, increase engagement and generate more leads.

Public relations agencies dissect pharmaceutical trends: Brandwidth Solutions, Orientation Marketing and White Matter Communications

Drug Solutions Podcast: Pharma Trends Dissected by 3 PR Agency Luminaries

How can organizations determine when to outsource vs. insource? What factors can (or should) be considered? The right outsourcing strategy has the potential to limit unnecessary costs, maintain output and turnaround times, and enable continued flexibility. In part two of this outsourcing series, Meg Rivers and Jeff Henderson, key account manager of Vetter, discuss:

What the biopharma industry currently tends to outsource

Outsourcing strategies the biopharma industry should be utilizing

Internal tasks the biopharma industry should consider outsourcing more in development and manufacturing

What the biopharma industry should reconsider outsourcing and instead perform in-house

What organizations are choosing not to outsource and why

Jeff Henderson, key account manager, Vetter:

 Henderson has served in a variety of positions as an engineer, consultant, and business development professional over the span of his 25-year career. He began his engineering and consulting role with Barry-Wehmiller Design Group in St. Louis, designing, installing, and validating filling and packaging lines for the food, beverage, and pharma industries before earning his MBA at Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA. After that, Henderson worked at Amgen where he was initially responsible for managing contract manufacturing operations at various packaging and sterile fill/finish sites in the United States. He later moved into a more strategic role in developing manufacturing strategies for clinical and commercial products in Amgen’s pipeline. In 2007, he moved to Seattle to focus on downstream efforts in automated warehousing and material handling before returning to a biotech engineering role at Medimmune’s pilot plant in Gaithersburg, MD. Following his position at MedImmune, he joined Vetter as a key account manager in 2010 and has been growing a solid business footprint over the past 12 years.

Listen to part one of this outsourcing series.

In this episode of the Drug Solutions Podcast, Meg Rivers discusses outsourcing strategies in biopharma with Jeff Henderson, key account manager of Vetter.

Drug Solutions Podcast: Outsourcing vs. Insourcing in Biopharma: Determining the Best Strategy: Part 2

The first needle-free adrenaline treatment launches in the UK, validating non-invasive delivery with real-world data comparable to injection effectiveness.

How ALK's UK-Approved Nasal Spray Changes the R&D Model for Acute Emergency Treatment

Take this quiz to test your comprehension of one of our recent feature articles.

Test Your Knowledge: Patient-Centric Care Through Oral Liquid Delivery

Test Your Knowledge (Answers): Patient-Centric Care Through Oral Liquid Delivery

Michael Ritchie, chief commercial officer at Champions Oncology, explains what makes radiopharmaceuticals unique in the treatment of cancer.

Why Radiopharmaceuticals Are Ideal for Treating Cancer

This article outlines common CMC problems that are obstacles that steal momentum and create costly detours in the development or orphan drugs.

The Push for Momentum, Not Mistakes in Orphan Drug Development

Advancing Radiopharmaceutical Development

On Sept. 11, 2025, Medicines Discovery Catapult (MDC), a national life sciences service dedicated to drug discovery, and Crown Bioscience, a contract research organization, announced the companies were collaborating on an integrated translational biology platform for the development of radiopharmaceuticals (1). As part of the collaboration, MDC will provide knowledge in cell biology, high-resolution microscopy, radiochemistry, preclinical imaging, mass spectrometry, and multi-omic tissue analysis, and Crown Bioscience will provide discovery, preclinical, and translations platforms and services for oncology and immune-oncology products.

® spoke with Juliana Maynard, PhD, Head of Translational Imaging, at MDC, to find out what makes radiopharmaceuticals unique and how MDC’s collaboration with Crown Bioscience can help developers of these treatments for cancer. According to Maynard, radiopharmaceuticals have enormous potential that provide game-changing breakthroughs for cancer patients, and the collaboration with Crown Bioscience will create a fully integrated pre-clinical workflow for developing radiopharmaceuticals globally as well as explore new isotopes or optimize targeting agents.

“At their core, they are a class of medicines that contain both a radioactive form of a chemical element, something we call a radioisotope, and they can be used to both diagnose and also to treat cancers,” Maynard explains. “But what makes them so unique and so powerful is their precision, and what they will do is they will target radiation directly to the tumors. How it works is taking a targeting molecule that binds to that specific receptor on a cancer cell, it will carry the radioisotope then straight to the disease site. And once it's there, the gamma rays themselves will emit either alpha or beta particles and kill the cancer cells for therapy. And what it means is that we can both see the disease through the diagnostic tracer, but we can also treat it in a very targeted way, something we call a theranostic approach. So, it's highly individualized, and it's very much image-guided therapy. So instead of a one-size-fits-all, what we can do is get smarter, safer, and more patient-derived, stratified medicine approach to treatment.”

“Compared with traditional cancer therapies, radiopharmaceuticals themselves, they spare healthy tissue,” Maynard continues. “We don't get those side effects that we've seen with other cancer medicines. And because they're so precisely delivered to those cancer cells, the radiation dose to the rest of the body is significantly reduced, which lowers those side effects. And we've shown proven treatment effects already in some really difficult-to-treat cancers, cancers.”

Click the above video to watch the entire interview.

Juliana Maynard is Head of Translational Imaging at Medicines Discovery Catapult. She has a PhD from the University of Edinburgh, and was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Manchester.

MDC and Crown Bioscience. Medicines Discovery Catapult and Crown Bioscience Form Strategic Global Alliance for Radiopharmaceutical Innovation. Press Release. Sept. 11, 2025. 

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250911458780/en/Medicines-Discovery-Catapult-and-Crown-Bioscience-Form-Strategic-Global-Alliance-for-Radiopharmaceutical-Innovation

*Editor’s Note: This transcript is a direct, unedited rendering of the original audio/video content. It may contain errors, informal language, or omissions as spoken in the original recording.

My name is Juliana Maynard. I'm head of translational imaging at medicines discovery catapult. My background is in imaging science. I did my PhD at the University of Edinburgh, and then I moved to the University of Manchester as a postdoctoral researcher. And after that, I spent nine years in AstraZeneca before deciding to step out of industry to set up a commercial imaging service, and the aim there was to make imaging much more accessible to the wider drug discovery community. And that ambition led me to my career now in medicines discovery catapult, which is a national life sciences organization that's dedicated to turning drug discovery into meaningful commercial breakthroughs. And at MDC medicines discovery catapult, we work very closely with entrepreneur entrepreneurial scientists, and we help them validate their ideas. We derisk their investments, and ultimately, we drive productivity across the drug discovery sector and also impact to patients. And within my team, we focus on applying those translational imaging techniques, technologies like Positron Emission Tomography and computer tomography, to understand how medicines behave in real biological conditions, and this, in turn, helps accelerate drug development. It ensures that those medicines are developed to deliver the maximum therapeutic benefit to our patients. And we're also pioneering in the area of radio pharmaceutical development and translation. And here, we're combining our world class radio chemistry expertise with our state of art imaging technologies, including clinically the world's the UK's first total body PET scanner. So, alongside my role here as head of translational imaging at MDC, I'm also the director of operations and engagement for our national PET imaging platform, and this is a National Technology network that provides the UK research community with unprecedented access to total body pairs.

 What is unique about the use of radiopharmaceuticals to treat cancer?

So, radiopharmaceuticals really do have enormous potential in modern medicine, and they're already driving game, game changing breakthroughs to patients, and we're seeing that worldwide. And at their core, they are a class of medicines that contain both a radioactive form of a chemical element, something we call a radioisotope, and they can be used to both diagnose and also to treat cancers. But what makes them so unique and so powerful is their precision, and what they will do is they will target radiation directly to the tumors. How it works is taking a targeting molecule that binds to that specific receptor on a cancer cell, it will carry the radioisotope then straight to the disease site. And once it's there, the gamma rays themselves will emit either alpha or beta particles and kill the cancer cells for therapy. And what it means is that we can both see the disease through the diagnostic tracer, but we can also treat it in a very targeted way, something we call a theranostic approach, so it's highly individualized, and it's very much image-guided therapy. So instead of a one size fits all, what we can do is get smarter, safer and more patient derived, stratified medicine approach to treatment, and compared with traditional cancer therapies, radiopharmaceuticals themselves, they spare healthy tissue. We don't get those side effects that we've seen with other cancer medicines. And because they're so precisely delivered to those cancer cells, the radiation dose to the rest of the body is significantly reduced, which lowers those side effects? And we've shown proven treatment effects already in some really difficult to treat cancers, cancers. So, for example, prostate cancer and neuro endocrine tumors have shown huge traction. And also beyond the therapy, as I say, those radioactive traces and the technology advancements that we're seeing within the UK, we can see those incredibly detailed insights to give both earlier but also more accurate diagnostics. So, you know, really, what makes them so unique is that we can combine the diagnostic, diagnosis and the treatment into one, and we're offering earlier detection, you know, better more precise treatment. And ultimately, we should. Lead to better patient outcomes.

 What are some of the specific challenges associated with the development of radiopharmaceuticals?

That's a really important question, because radiopharmaceuticals themselves have enormous potential. We've seen that, but there are still some very real challenges, both in their development, but also delivery, delivery that we need to overcome. So firstly, the global demand for the radio pharmaceutical treatments themselves is rising fast, you know, around 5% per year currently and growing more and more. And here in the UK, every hospital is using them daily to help patients, but one of the biggest hurdles is the access to the radio isotopes themselves. And at the moment, there are currently no UK production routes for many of the key radionuclides that we need. And that means that our clinical trials and also the widespread use of these therapies are heavily dependent on imports from overseas and from reactors and cyclotrons. And naturally, that supply chain creates risks, and if those supply chains are disrupted, then the access to the treatment and for the patient is immediately effective. Secondly, there are regulatory and quality requirements themselves. So like all medicines ready, pharmaceuticals must be manufactured, transported and administered, and very strict standards to ensure patient safety. And patient safety is at the forefront of every medicine that's produced, but because these products are radioactive and the bar for handling them, and also the compliance and how we administer them, is even higher, and that can slow development and add significant complexity. And then there's also the challenge of the short half life. So the radio isotopes themselves, they do degrade very quickly. So often the medicines have to be produced on the day that they're needed for injection, and also any delay in that transport, the production or the administration, can mean that procedures need to be canceled. We have a wasted product, or worse, a patient could be missing out on a timely diagnostic or treatment. So while the promise of radio pharmaceuticals are huge, overcoming these challenges, particularly around that reliable isotope supply regulations and logistics is critical if we want to see the full impact for our patients, both here in the UK but also worldwide.

How will the new crown MDC platform accelerate the development of radio pharmaceuticals?

How will the new crown and MDC partnership develop? So the partnership between Crown Bioscience and Medicines Discovery Catapult it's an incredibly exciting opportunity because it creates a fully integrated pre-clinical workflow for companies that are developing radio pharmaceuticals globally, and whether they're advancing new radio therapeutics, or they're exploring new isotopes or optimizing their targeting agents. This partnership can encompass all of those parts of the delivery so here within medicines discovery catapult, we've built a national radio pharmaceutical platform that combines the cutting-edge imaging technologies with the world class radio chemistry and translational expertise within the team, but crown bioscience themselves, they bring that unrivaled strength in pre-clinical oncology models and drug discovery services. So together, that creates a seamless pathway right the way through from discovery through into pre-clinical validation, but also into those translational imaging studies. And what this means for drug developers is that they can carry out more efficient studies, they can generate that high quality translational data, and it will support their precision medicine strategies. The partnership really does enable that rapid and also reliable testing of how a radiopharmaceutical behaves within the body and also how the body responds to it and how effective the radiopharmaceutical itself is, all of which are absolutely critical to identifying those drug candidates and reducing that clinical development risk. We're also leveraging our expertise across other areas within our organization, our cell biology, high resolution microscopy and also multi omic tissue analysis, and that allows us to deliver robust comparator studies with approved standards of care, which in turn provides greater regulatory confidence and help those drug developers provide and prepare stronger and successful investigational new drug submissions. So, by combining all of our strengths, we're not only helping innovators develop radio pharmaceuticals more efficiently, we're giving them the tools to de risk their investment accelerate the time it will take to get them to clinic and ultimately improve patient outcomes. So, it's all about moving radio pharmaceuticals to market faster and. Doing so in a way that's smarter, safer and more impactful for our patients.

Videos

Pharmaceutical Technology® spoke with Juliana Maynard, PhD, Head of Translational Imaging, at Medicines Discovery Catapult, to find out what makes radiopharmaceuticals unique and how MDC’s collaboration with Crown Bioscience can help developers of these treatments for cancer.

PharmTech News

PharmTech Videos

Radiopharmaceuticals: A Development Platform

In September 2025, Medicines Discovery Catapult (MDC), a national life sciences service dedicated to drug discovery, and Crown Bioscience, a contract research organization, announced they are collaborating on an integrated translational biology platform to develop radiopharmaceuticals (1). According to the National Institutes for Health, radiopharmaceuticals may reduce side effects associated with other cancer treatments; therefore, there has been a surge of research and clinical trials for these drugs (2). The new MDC/Crown Bioscience platform is being created to support this surge in radiopharmaceutical development and will provide a workflow for more-efficient studies and high-quality translational data.

Pharmaceutical Technology® spoke with Bryan Miller, Director of Scientific and Technical Operations at Crown Bioscience UK, to learn more about Crown Bioscience’s collaboration with Medicines Discovery Catapult on a new development platform for radiopharmaceuticals.

Drug Development

Latest News

Research into Cold Cancers Heating Up