dGenThera, Inc., a biotechnology company pioneering theranostic molecular pairs, and Nusano, a physics company transforming radioisotope production, announced the signing of a letter of intent to provide dGenThera with access to high-purity astatine-211 (At-211) for cancer therapy. The agreement addresses a critical supply bottleneck that has historically limited the widespread use of this promising alpha-emitting isotope in oncology.
Breakthrough Production Technology Addresses Supply Constraints
Nusano's state-of-the-art radioisotope production facility in the Salt Lake City region of Utah will operate an alpha beam with a current 10 times greater than all the world's comparable systems combined. This single facility could produce a 100-fold increase in the world's total At-211 supply, enabling distribution across the United States and additional geographies through daily production runs.
"Nusano is working to provide drugmakers and innovators with the stable, scalable isotope supplies needed for next-generation, cancer-fighting radiotherapeutics," said Chris Lowe, CEO of Nusano. "This agreement reflects our commitment to expanding access to At-211 and enabling the entire field of targeted alpha therapy."
Superior Therapeutic Profile of Astatine-211
Astatine-211 is increasingly recognized as the alpha emitter of choice for targeted radiotherapeutics due to its unique properties. Its pure alpha emission results in high-energy, short-range cytotoxicity that selectively destroys cancer cells while minimizing damage to surrounding healthy tissue. Unlike chelated metal alpha emitters actinium-225 (Ac-225) and lead-212 (Pb-212), At-211 has no problematic daughter isotopes that can detach and release payloads into healthy tissue.
The isotope's 7.2-hour half-life provides an ideal window for systemic delivery and tumor targeting. Moreover, compared to metal emitter chelates, small molecules with covalently-attached At-211 are much more amenable to crossing the blood-brain barrier and targeting both primary brain cancers and brain metastases.
"We believe that At-211 will be the foundation of the next generation of targeted alpha therapies," said Louis Metzger, Co-founder and CEO of dGenThera. "Its therapeutic profile is unmatched—combining precision, potency, and safety."
Theranostic Platform Enables Precision Medicine
dGenThera is advancing a differentiated platform of theranostic molecular pairs designed to enable true image-guided targeted radiotherapy. Each therapeutic molecule is nearly identical to its corresponding PET imaging agent, differing only in the isotope label—At-211 or iodine-131 (I-131) replacing iodine-127 (I-127) for therapy and fluorine-18 for imaging. This close chemical matching eliminates the need for chelated metal emitters, which can introduce stability, pharmacokinetic, and safety concerns.
"Our vision is to enable At-211-based alpha therapy anywhere that F-18 PET is performed," said Anthony Casarez, Ph.D., Co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of dGenThera. "By engineering exquisitely matched theranostic pairs with stably bonded At-211, we can seamlessly integrate targeted alpha therapies into existing nuclear medicine workflows."
Clinical Development and Commercialization Support
The agreement supports dGenThera's goal of rapidly advancing its proprietary pipeline of targeted alpha therapies (TATs). Nusano will supply dGenThera with At-211 in quantities sufficient to enable the company's ongoing preclinical studies, first-in-human trials, and subsequent clinical development.
dGenThera's proprietary chemistry leverages optimized covalent bonds to incorporate therapeutic emitters At-211 and I-131, paired with matched molecules incorporating diagnostic emitter F-18. The company's carbon-halogen bond stabilization technology reduces the risk of de-halogenation in vivo, which has previously limited the use of halogen emitters such as At-211 and I-131 in targeted radiotherapeutics.
The approach dramatically accelerates clinical development, simplifies regulatory pathways, and ensures that the diagnostic and therapeutic forms of the molecules behave nearly identically in the body, de-risking clinical translation and enabling true precision medicine. dGenThera is advancing a pipeline of theranostic pairs across multiple high-unmet-need cancer indications.
