Linkage grant to improve diagnostic imaging

Radiopharmaceutical company Clarity Pharmaceuticals and the University of Melbourne have been awarded an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage grant to fund the development of new agents for diagnostic imaging using positron emission tomography (PET). The ultimate aim of the project is to try to improve molecular imaging of the brain for various disorders.

Valued at $365,000 over three years, the grant will fund research into the use of PET isotopes of copper, gallium and fluorine with a view to replacing existing technologies that rely on single-photon emission from technetium and the technique of single photon emission computed tomography. It has been co-awarded to the University of Melbourne’s Associate Professor Paul Donnelly, the inventor of several patents for radiopharmaceutical technologies.

“This grant is a result of continuous collaboration between Clarity and the University of Melbourne, and we are proud that our translational approach to science brings strong positive outcomes,” said Clarity CEO Dr Matthew Harris. “Our team is looking forward to progressing the opportunity to support development and commercialisation of new treatments to ensure better patient outcomes.”

Clarity recently in-licensed from the University of Melbourne two patents from Associate Professor Donnelly’s portfolio, covering analogues of sarcophagine chelators, which stem from a previous Linkage grant between the two organisations. These patents are being used for applications in the imaging of cancer, with a clinical trial currently underway.

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