Medicines Discovery Catapult (MDC) and Thor Medical, a leading supplier of high-purity medical isotopes to the radiopharmaceutical industry, have entered into a three-year supply agreement.

Under the agreement, Thor Medical will supply radium-224 and lead-212 from its industrial-scale AlphaOne facility. This will provide MDC with a scalable source of the isotopes needed to support radiopharmaceutical developers and preclinical targeted alpha therapy programmes.

Lead-212 is one of the alpha-emitting radionuclides emerging as increasingly important for targeted alpha therapies, which offer hope to patients with cancers that are currently hard to treat. These treatments target and destroy cancer cells while minimising damage to healthy tissue and reducing side effects.

The radiopharmaceutical therapy pipeline is expanding, with more than 30 phase three clinical trials underway. Demand is therefore increasing for both therapeutic radionuclides and the infrastructure needed to translate promising medicines from preclinical evaluation into clinical development.

Jasper C. Kurth, CEO of Thor Medical, said:

“We are pleased to support Medicines Discovery Catapult with the isotopes it needs to help advance radiopharmaceutical development in the UK. Since opening AlphaOne, we are seeing increasing interest in securing predictable and stable isotope supply, which is an important enabler for preclinical development. We look forward to supporting MDC and the programmes it works with over the coming years.”

Dr Juliana Maynard, Chief Scientist, Translational Imaging and Radiopharmaceuticals, Medicines Discovery Catapult, said:

“This agreement with Thor Medical strengthens MDC’s ability to support radiopharmaceutical developers in getting precision treatments closer to patients. By combining isotope supply with MDC’s preclinical development capabilities, we can help partners generate the evidence needed to progress programmes from early discovery to clinical development and future impact.”

With increasing investment in the development, manufacture, and clinical translation of precision radiopharmaceutical medicines, a reliable supply of medical isotopes remains fundamental to advancing research and development in this space.

Alongside securing isotope supplies for development programmes, MDC is supporting initiatives to strengthen the UK’s future capability. This includes a £18.8 million consortium, part-funded by Innovate UK’s Sustainable Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Programme and led by United Kingdom National Nuclear Laboratory and Medicines Discovery Catapult, which is working to establish the ecosystem of a UK lead-212 supply chain.

Together, these activities help ensure innovators can access the isotopes they need today while supporting the long-term growth of UK radiopharmaceutical capability.