Imaging giant GE Healthcare announced this week that it’s teaming with biotech firm Theragnostics in a bid to improve prostate cancer treatment.
The two said Wednesday, Oct. 9, that they’ll work in tandem to produce a prostate-specific membrane antigen PET/CT imaging agent. Theragnostics will champion development of the tracer—which they’re calling GalliProst—while GE Healthcare will handle preapproval processes and commercial distribution.
Typically, prostate cancer is first detected through a blood test or biopsy and then confirmed using PET/CT imaging to chart a treatment course. GalliProst uses heatmap-style imaging to pinpoint the exact location of the tumor. Providers changed treatment plans for about one-third of newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients when deploying the technology, Theragnostics found in a clinical study.
"We are excited to partner with Theragnostics on GalliProst to give vital insights into prostate cancer," Sanka Thiru, a global product leader in molecular imaging oncology for GE Healthcare, said in a statement. "We believe that this partnership enables both parties to leverage each other's key areas of expertise in order to accelerate the development of GalliProst and ultimately improve patient care."
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.