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.

To learn more about the platform and radiopharmaceuticals, Pharmaceutical Technology® spoke with Bryan Miller, Director of Scientific and Technical Operations at Crown Bioscience UK.

“Radiopharmaceuticals offer exciting prospects for the treatment of cancer by coupling an isotope to a test article that recognizes a specific target on a tumor, we can deliver a targeted dose of radiation that will kill the tumor without harming healthy tissue,” Miller explains. “This offers increased safety and efficacy for anti-cancer treatments, and I am very excited by the prospect of widening the range of tumors where radio pharmaceutical therapies are available for patients.”

“Radiopharmaceutical preparation requires careful planning and expert execution. Selecting the correct pre-clinical model is crucial,” Miller continues. “Determining the correct targeting strategy for the tumor is absolutely vital as well, and you need to select an appropriate isotope and correct labeling position. It's absolutely vital to develop a robust labeling strategy and conduct a thorough QC of the methods we are able to offer advice and support across all of these areas for the design of a successful radio pharmaceutical project.”

Click the video above to watch the interview.

References

1. 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
2. NCI Staff. Radiopharmaceuticals: Radiation Therapy Enters the Molecular Age. National Cancer Institute. Cancer.gov. Oct. 26, 2020. https://www.cancer.gov/news-events/cancer-currents-blog/2020/radiopharmaceuticals-cancer-radiation-therapy

About the speaker

Bryan Miller, Director of Scientific and Technical Operations, Crown Bioscience UK

Bryan Miller completed his PhD in Biochemistry at the University of Leicester. He subsequently performed two post-doctoral fellowships at the University of Toronto and the Beatson Institute where he focused on in vivo and in vitro models of colorectal and pancreatic cancer. He has worked in the CRO field since 2015, and joined Crown Bioscience UK in 2019 where he currently serves as Director of Scientific and Technical Operations.