Radiation Application

Research and Development of Radiation Application

 

There are almost more than 40 years in the field of radiation application in INER. Now the radiation application has been deeply connected with people’s life, such as syringe radiation sterilization, spice radiation disinfection, foam material polymerization, weather resistant of cable insulator radiation, and the X-ray medical application. Recently, following the developing of science technologies like computer technology, molecular biology, semiconductor technology, new material development and environmental technology, cancer radiotherapy and nuclear medicine application have approached a new generation through the incorporation of PET and SPECT combined with MRI, CT and with 3D tomographic technology. These developments have helped medical doctors look inside the patient’s sick focus clearly, and help doctor’s micro surgery and precise therapy much easier. Radiation application in polymerization , crosslinking and grafting also produce a lot of new products for modern life, such as functional textile with wind resistant, moisture transferring and quick drying properties, weather resistant vehicle tires, and decoration material modification radiation. Now radiation application technology has become a very important support in people’s living.

Now, INER has already owned a mature value chain, including drugs discovery, optimization of lead compounds, preclinical study, clinical trials (IND), registration (NDA), PIC/S GMP manufacturing production facility (including raw materials and drugs), commercialization of products and technologies transfer etc. INER also has the experience in PET, micro CT and X-ray and CT. With recent development of precise therapy and personalize medicine, INER chooses nuclear medicine and imaging technology as a priority research and development items.

INER TRODAT-1 Kit was approved by Taiwan Department of Health in 2005. Over these years, INER TRODAT-1 Kit has reached the pharmaceutical industry PIC/S GMP level. INER has also broken the TRODAT-1 Kit synthesis bottlenecks to get 10 times more production yield than the original yield. In addition, INER TRODAT-1 Kit owns the spot light and internationally renowned by supplying to academic and medical field for research. It was license-out in 2016. We hope this drug will enter the highly competitive global biomedical market through industrial worldwide marketing channel.

In addition to the Rhenium-188 liposome, which is already in clinical trials phase 0 and phase 1 stage, there are two items on applying for clinical trial and new drug approval from INER. First, Rhenium-188-MN-16ET/Lipiodol injections, Second, INER iodine-123 MIBG injections. Especially INER iodine-123 MIBG is the best examples of a new use of an old drug. In recent years, iodine-123-MIBG used in diagnosis for the cardiac sympathetic nerve function is getting international attention. In 2015, we have obtained the registration trial wavier of iodine-123-MIBG on the diagnosis of neurogenic tumor and cardiac sympathetic nerve function from Taiwan Food and Drug Administration. We hope to get the medicinal license ASAP in the near future and to transfer this medicine to industry for clinical application.

The global market of medical imaging devices was reached 800 million USD in 2016. Our R&D of medical imaging devices is focusing on improving the quality of medical imaging and decreasing absorbing dose as well as enhancing the measurement accuracy. A low dose 3D X-ray system, called Taiwan TomoDR was developed and the technologies will be available to be transferred to local firms.

In nuclear medicine, we have begun a lot of new research projects. There are several related nuclear pharmaceutical researches, such as galactose for the function imaging of liver and bile system, multiple function probe for tumor imaging, and generation system of Ga-68. They will be our major R&D topics in this field in the near future.

With the purpose of precise therapy and personalize medicine, and enhancing the technical level of domestic pharmaceutical biotechnology and nuclear medicine industry, we are trying to integration the efforts from academy, research centers and medical units through cooperation of those groups to achieve the industrialization and commercialization, to make a global high-competitive biomedical market distribution. To push the levels of Taiwan's pharmaceutical to be one of the best in the world, we will enhance the R&D in radiation application, and make it as one of the INER’s main projects to help the sustainable development.