Alliance between UBO and Guerbet for Research in Oncology and Radiopharmaceutical Advancements. – AURORA

The AURORA Joint Laboratory (Alliance UBO-Guerbet for Research in Oncology and Advanced Radiopharmaceuticals) is a joint initiative between the University of Western Brittany (UBO) and Guerbet SA, aimed at developing innovative radiopharmaceuticals for interventional oncology (IO). IO is a promising approach in personalized medicine, combining precise diagnostics with image-guided treatment, enabling local, minimally invasive, and repeatable therapies. Among these, Selective Internal Radiation Therapy (SIRT) is used to treat liver cancer by injecting radioactive microspheres into the tumor's arteries, thereby targeting irradiation without affecting healthy tissues.
The AURORA LabCom aims to apply the SIRT approach to another digestive cancer, pancreatic cancer, by selectively delivering an innovative radiotherapy to improve patient outcomes. Leveraging the recognized expertise of the UMR CNRS-UBO 6521 CEMCA laboratory in macrocyclic ligand design and coordination chemistry, along with Guerbet’s unique know-how in interventional imaging, the LabCom will contribute to developing tools to treat pancreatic tumors with greater precision, efficiency, and within a personalized treatment framework.
The AURORA LabCom program is built around three strategic pillars:
1. Development of new optimized chelating agents for complexing therapeutic radionuclides of interest in IO (Lutetium-177, Copper-67, and Yttrium-90: Lu-177, Cu-67, Y-90, respectively). The objective is to design chelators that allow rapid and efficient complexation of radiometals of interest while ensuring stable and inert radiocomplexes in vivo.
2. Evaluation of different encapsulation solutions and adaptation of radio-chelates to be integrated into a suitable SIRT formulation, either oil-based or polymeric.
3. Industrialization and clinical translation, anticipating production and regulatory constraints to ensure a rapid and efficient market introduction of the developed innovations.
The requested support is crucial to establishing a sustainable and ambitious collaborative structure, with dedicated resources to develop research and innovation projects, meet industrial needs, access specialized equipment, and fund necessary human resources. This support will foster convergence between academic research and industrial innovation within the AURORA LabCom, creating innovative and competitive medical solutions on an international scale. Initial results, such as patent filings and preclinical trials, are expected within the first three years. Ultimately, the project aims to accelerate patient access to more precise, effective, and less invasive therapies, addressing the challenges of personalized medicine.