Defence Therapeutics Expands Radiopharmaceutical R&D Program to Evaluate Alpha and Beta Emitter Applications

MONTREAL, Quebec, Canada — Biotechnology company Defence Therapeutics Inc. recently announced the expansion of its radiopharmaceutical R&D program to include α and β radioisotopes in its evaluation scope, further validating the application potential of its proprietary Accum® technology in precision oncology.

Defence Therapeutics is a publicly traded biotechnology company developing next-generation oncology treatments centered on its Accum® precision drug delivery platform. The company stated that the Accum® technology is designed to facilitate the entry of drug payloads into the intracellular compartment, thereby improving delivery efficiency. This expansion of the radiopharmaceutical program is part of the company's broader efforts to strengthen its radiopharmaceutical R&D footprint.

According to the company, radiopharmaceuticals represent one of the fastest-growing areas in precision oncology. Defence Therapeutics believes that the Accum® technology has the potential to enhance the efficiency with which radiopharmaceuticals enter cancer cells, enabling more cytotoxic payloads to reach their targets and exert their effects within tumor cells. The company is advancing internal programs to evaluate the role of the Accum® platform in the development of radioimmunoconjugate drug candidates.

The program will evaluate two classes of radioisotopes in parallel. Among them, α emitters, exemplified by actinium-225, feature high energy and short range, producing relatively localized cell damage; β emitters, exemplified by lutetium-177, feature moderate energy and longer penetration distance. The company plans to compare the characteristics of different isotopes to analyze the enhancement effects of the Accum® platform on various radioactive payloads.

Defence Therapeutics stated that the expanded program will generate comparative pharmacology, efficacy, and safety data for both isotope classes, and further validate the suitability of Accum® as an intracellular delivery platform for multiple radioisotope payloads. At this stage, the company's preclinical studies focus on the core mechanisms of the Accum® platform, with the goal of optimizing accumulation in target cells while reducing off-target toxicity.

Dr. Ryan Simms, the company's newly appointed Chief Operating Officer and radiopharmaceutical program lead, stated that by developing the platform along both α and β isotope pathways, the company can more comprehensively analyze the compatibility between Accum® and different payload characteristics.

Dr. Amie Phinney, President and Chief Executive Officer of Defence Therapeutics, stated that the parallel development program will provide data to support the optimization of Accum®-enhanced radioimmunoconjugates and will be used for screening different drug candidates. The company hopes to advance the application of Accum® technology in next-generation targeted therapies.