Sloan-Kettering Shines a Light on Nanotech Imaging
This article was originally published in Start Up
Executive Summary
Researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering and Cornell University have taken the first steps toward moving a silica-based nanoparticle platform invented at Cornell into use in cancer imaging. Using optical imaging and PET, they showed that encapsulating a dye in a biocompatible nanoscale matrix enhanced imaging capabilities while maintaining efficient clearance through the urine.
You may also be interested in...
Can Nanotech Be a Game-Changer for In Vitro Diagnostics?
People have awakened to the opportunities in diagnostics. Molecular information offers the potential for increased test sensitivity, and reduced upfront sample prep using nanotechnology could provide the means for many gene- and protein-based diagnostic tests to transition out of the central lab. Nanotech may also enable the use of newly discovered or newly usable biomarkers. Finally, unlike the traditional point-of-care model, a new wave of nanotech-based instruments could bring testing even closer to the patient.
Preparing Molecular Imaging's Future
Diagnostic imaging systems such as CT/PET and MR/PET, which bring together in vivo anatomical and functional information in the same device or at the same workstation, offer a real opportunity for expanding the clinical utility of molecular imaging. But to drive adoption of these new combination systems will require data showing that their use changes therapeutic decision-making. For the most part, these data are at least several years away, with most of the work today in cancer, where in vivo imaging has been shown to better evaluate tumor type, guide radiation therapy, and change chemotherapy management. In the meantime, suppliers of imaging equipment to hospitals and research institutions are collaborating with academics and companies that are developing new radiotracers and other molecular probes. Such moves are not typical for these organizations, which, like IVD companies, traditionally have placed their bets on selling products into mature markets, rather than innovative R&D-oriented projects.
US Q1 Consumer Health Earnings Preview: Label This One Historic And Challenging But Promising
US OTC drug and supplement firms’ reports of results for the first three months of 2024 began on April 19 with P&G. JP Morgan analysts say while “some retailers in the US in particular” are reducing consumer health inventories, for the overall sector they expect “a healthier balance of positive volume and lower pricing contribution.”