USA – Orano Med, a subsidiary of the Orano Group and a pioneer in targeted alpha therapies for cancer, has unveiled its first Alpha Therapy Laboratory (ATLab) in Brownsburg, near Indianapolis, Indiana, USA.
This facility represents a significant milestone in the company’s strategy to address the challenges of manufacturing and supplying radioligand therapies on an industrial scale.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by officials from the French consulate, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, and the Orano Group leadership.
Guillaume Dureau, Senior Executive Vice President of Projects and innovation R&D and Nuclear Medicine for Orano, stated that the ATLab in Indianapolis, coupled with the lead-212 production capacity of their research unit in Plano, Texas, will enable them to serve North American patients requiring targeted lead-212 radiotherapy treatments.
Targeted Alpha Therapy with lead-212 combines the natural ability of biological molecules to target cancer cells with the short-range cell-killing capabilities of lead-212 generated alpha emissions.
The development of radiopharmaceuticals has long been hampered by the difficulty of manufacturing and distributing on an industrial scale.
The construction of Orano Med’s ATLab Indianapolis is a major step towards making these promising new treatments available to cancer patients with high unmet needs in North America.
ATLab Indianapolis spans over 30,000 ft² (2,800 m²), represents a US$20 million investment, and will create 25 direct jobs.
It will focus on producing lead-212 therapies developed by Orano Med and their distribution in North America. In 2023, Orano Med initiated construction work on a similar facility at Valenciennes in France to serve the European market.
Combined, these facilities will enable Orano Med to manufacture 10,000 doses a year worldwide as of 2025, with the aim of producing ten times that number by the end of the decade.
The location near Indianapolis was chosen for its proximity to major national and international distribution networks, with the second largest FedEx hub ensuring reliable transport of radiopharmaceutical products and its high concentration of pharmaceutical companies and skilled workforce.
Julien Dodet, CEO of Orano Med, expressed his conviction that lead-212 radioligand therapies will soon become essential in the fight against cancer.
He noted that the inauguration of ATLab Indianapolis represents another major step forward in the development, production, and distribution of these new treatments on a large scale, especially after obtaining Breakthrough Therapy Designation (BTD) from the FDA for their most advanced drug, AlphaMedix, together with their partner RadioMedix.
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