Project name:

SECURE - ensuring the availability of radioisotopes for medical purposes and the sustainability of their supply for medical treatment in Europe

SECURE project aims to make a major contribution to the sustainability of medical isotope production and its safe application in Europe. It is focusing on promising developments in the design of irradiation targets, production routes for existing and new isotopes in nuclear therapy and diagnostics. Isotopes critical in the success of nuclear medicine are selected and research activities such as Cu-64, Ag-111, Tb-161, Lu-177, Re-188, Au-199, Pb-212 and Ac-225 are identified to address some of the major challenges in securing its future availability, with the objectives:

1. to remove critical barriers along the production of its selected alpha and beta emitting isotopes that restrict a sustainable production,
2. to develop a framework of guidance and recommendations that enables exploring the full clinical potential of alpha and beta particle therapy and its safe application
3. to provide important lessons learned that act as a demonstration case for addressing issues in upscaling and sustained isotope production.

At present, Ra-223 is the only radiopharmaceutical which has been granted marketing authorization to treat adults with prostate cancer. This has paved the way for a wider use of other alpha emitters such as Ac-225 or Bi-213. The expected demand of nuclear medicine for novel alpha emitters and beta- emitters requires re-evaluation of their production methods and inventories of target

materials and parent radionuclides.

The ambition of SECURE consortium is to identify and efficiently use the current resources for new radionuclides, in particular for alpha emitters and the relevant beta emitting theranostic radionuclides. The development of alternative technologies for production of such therapeutic radionuclides for improved patient treatment requires multidisciplinary scientific and technological knowledge including physics, chemistry, material science, machining of target materials, chemistry, biology and radiobiology, Radiopharmacy and nuclear medicine.

All this chain of expertise is present in SECURE consortium:

1. Radioisotope Centre POLATOM, National Centre for Nuclear Research – Coordinator
2. NUCLEAR RESEARCH AND CONSULTANCY GROUP, Netherlands
3. INSTITUT MAX VON LAUE – PAUL LANGEVIN, France
4. INSTITUT JOZEF STEFAN, Slovenia
5. EUROPEAN NUCLEAR EDUCATION NETWORK, Belgium
6. ENERGIATUDOMANYI KUTATOKOZPONT, Hungary
7. EUROPEAN FEDERATION OF ORGANISATIONS FOR MEDICAL PHYSICS, Netherlands
8. AGENZIA NAZIONALE PER LE NUOVE TECNOLOGIE, L’ENERGIA E LO SVILUPPO ECONOMICO SOSTENIBILE, Italy
9. STUDIECENTRUM VOOR KERNENERGIE / CENTRE D’ETUDE DE L’ENERGIE NUCLEAIRE, Belgium
10. EVALION SRO, Czech Republic
11. BUDAPESTI MUSZAKI ES GAZDASAGTUDOMANYI EGYETEM, Hungary
12. CLUST ER INDUSTRIE DELLA SALUTE E DEL BENESSERE, Italy
13. CLUSTERUL REGIONAL INOVATIV DE IMAGISTICA MOLECULARA SI STRUCTURALA NORD-EST (IMAGOMOL), Romania
14. ISTITUTO ROMAGNOLO PER LO STUDIO DEI TUMORI DINO AMADORI – IRST SRL, Italy
15. UNIVERSITE DE BRETAGNE OCCIDENTALE, Francje
16. UNIVERZITETNI KLINICNI CENTER LJUBLJANA, Slovenia
17. JRC -JOINT RESEARCH CENTRE- EUROPEAN COMMISSION, Belgium
18. NATIONAL NUCLEAR LABORATORY LIMITED, Great Britain

Project realization date:
01.10.2022 – 30.09.2025

Financing:
Horyzont Europa

Financing for OR POLATOM (NCBJ):
3 630 425,50 EURO

Role of OR POLATOM (NCBJ) in the project:
Coordinator

Project supervisor:
prof. dr inż. Renata Mikołajczak