Radiopharmaceuticals are a growing class of medicines that contain radioactive forms of chemical elements (called radioisotopes) that effectively diagnose and treat cancers. They provide a rapidly advancing approach to the future of medical research and treatments, with the potential to drive game-changing breakthroughs for patients.

When used in oncology, radiopharmaceuticals deliver therapeutic radiation directly to tumors, meaning that they are more targeted, more effective, and result in fewer side effects. Radiopharmaceuticals can also be used as radioactive tracers in medical imaging, enhancing accuracy and providing detailed insights to help improve diagnosis.

The strategic global collaboration between MDC and Crown Bioscience supports companies across the radiopharmaceutical pipeline, whether they are advancing radiotherapeutics, exploring new isotopes, or optimizing targeting agents.

It recognizes and leverages the complementarity between MDC and Crown Bioscience’s expertise and technology platforms, and creates value for global life sciences companies, by providing access to an integrated, clinically relevant platform for evaluating their radiopharmaceutical therapies. MDC brings expertise and cutting-edge technology to the partnership in the fields of cell biology, high-resolution microscopy, radiochemistry, preclinical imaging, mass spectrometry and multi-omic tissue analysis enabling a comprehensive analysis of radiopharmaceutical assets.

The collaboration enables rapid and reliable testing of how radiopharmaceuticals work, how the body responds to them, and how effective they are - all critical factors in identifying viable drug candidates early and reducing clinical development risk.

Applying their combined expertise, MDC and Crown Bioscience will deliver preclinical comparator studies with approved standards of care, providing increased regulatory confidence and supporting drug developers to prepare successful Investigational New Drug submissions.

Together, MDC and Crown Bioscience provide a fully integrated preclinical workflow for companies developing radiotherapeutics. By delivering more efficient studies, generating high-quality translational data, and supporting precision medicine strategies, the collaboration will accelerate radiopharmaceutical drug development and improve patient outcomes.

Commenting on today’s announcement, Dr Francesca Sadler, Chief Commercial Officer at Medicines Discovery Catapult, said:

“MDC operates an advanced preclinical drug discovery facility, including world-class radiochemistry capabilities and a translational suite of imaging technologies, to support the growing demand for novel radiopharmaceuticals.

“Our partnership with Crown Bioscience means MDC can expand its current end-to-end translational biology offering even further. Combining the expertise of our two organizations provides a comprehensive platform for drug innovators developing radiopharmaceuticals, helping to accelerate the progress of these novel medicines that have the potential to transform patient outcomes.”

John Gu, Chief Executive Officer at Crown Bioscience, said:

“Advanced radiopharmaceuticals are poised to redefine how we treat cancer, but their successful development requires translational platforms that are both scientifically rigorous and clinically relevant. By combining MDC’s radiochemistry and imaging capabilities with Crown Bioscience’s preclinical oncology expertise, we are creating a truly integrated solution for innovators in this field. This collaboration reflects our shared commitment to accelerating the delivery of next generation targeted therapies to patients worldwide.”

MDC is a national Life Sciences service dedicated to turning drug discovery into impactful and commercial breakthroughs. With unrivaled radiochemistry expertise and a suite of imaging technologies, including total-body PET, MDC is pioneering the development, evaluation and translation of radiopharmaceuticals.

Crown Bioscience is a global contract research organization that provides discovery, preclinical, and translational platforms and services to advance oncology and immuno-oncology. Its industry-leading expertise in translational preclinical models enables efficacy testing and provides robust evaluation of anti-tumor activity.