The first Galician-Portuguese network Gallaecia-PET will enable the development of new high-precision diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals.
- Six Galician and five Portuguese entities meet in Compostela to share the achievements of the first year of this platform, which involves important technological advances and the development of radiopharmaceuticals up to their clinical use.
- Projects include the development of a high-resolution brain PET scanner, advances in early diagnosis and treatment of brain tumours and inflammatory diseases, as well as direct collaboration in the development of CAR-T therapies and the production of new radiopharmaceuticals.
The public-private cooperation between cross-border partners from Galicia and Portugal allows for major technological challenges through the Gallaecia-PET network, born just over a year ago and responsible for coordinating and significantly increasing the different capacities existing in both regions in PET (positron emission tomography) medical imaging technology, from preclinical research and the development of radiopharmaceuticals to their clinical use. Five Portuguese entities (research and technology centres, hospitals, universities and companies) and six Galician entities met in Santiago de Compostela to take stock and present the first milestones of this platform.
The development of a high-resolution scanner for brain PET; advances in early diagnosis and treatment of brain tumours, an immuno-PET imaging project with antibodies in inflammatory diseases; the development of CAR-T therapies through the Galician Centre for Advanced Therapies; the production of new radiopharmaceuticals through the PET Radiopharmaceutical Production Centre, both managed by Galaria, as well as the exchange of postdoctoral researchers and participation in thesis tribunals, are some of the achievements to date.
Precision radiotherapy
PET is a non-invasive diagnostic technique in nuclear medicine that allows imaging of the patient's body. It is a test that uses small amounts of radioactive substances called radiotracers or radiopharmaceuticals, a special camera and computer equipment to evaluate the functions of tissues and organs. By identifying changes at the cellular level, PET can detect early manifestations of diseases such as cancer earlier than other imaging tests. It is therefore a very useful technique in the diagnosis and monitoring of tumour diseases, which can be used in combination with other imaging tests, such as CT, to provide more comprehensive and accurate information about the area under study.
Top-level partners
The Gallaecia-PET network has a long history thanks to the research, innovation and institutional contributions of all the partners and hopes to receive funding from INterreg POCTEP development funds.
Among the entities that form part of this platform are companies and research centres in the Euroregion: ATI Sistemas SA, the University of Aveiro (UA), the Centre for Research in Molecular Medicine and Chronic Diseases (CiMUS) of the University of Santiago de Compostela, the Health Research Institute Foundation of Santiago IDIS and Galaria Empresa Pública de Servicios Sanitarios de la Consellería de Sanidade, the Instituto de Ciencias Nucleares Aplicadas a la Salud (ICNAS-Pharma), the Instituto Politécnico de Coimbra (IPC), the Laboratorio de Instrumentaçión y Física Experimental de Partículas (LIP), Qubiotech Health Intelligence SA, Radiation Imaging Technologies Lda. (RI-TE) and the University of Vigo (UVigo).
The meeting in Santiago de Compostela was attended by a large number of scientists from Galicia and Portugal, as well as three round tables made up of political, scientific and healthcare leaders who addressed the different challenges and strategic issues facing our Euroregion with regard to different healthcare technologies. The scientific sessions explained the advances made in the use of nanoparticles for PET imaging and new strategies based on the use of monoclonal antibodies as radiopharmaceuticals for diagnosis and therapy. In a second block, the advances made in the field of technological development were explained, both in terms of new high-resolution imaging equipment and AI techniques applied to PET image analysis. The round tables dealt with the challenges that our hospitals face in this field, mainly related to the supply of radiopharmaceuticals to peripheral regions and other regulatory issues that affect the two sides of the Galician-Portuguese border differently.
The meeting, held in Compostela, was attended on its opening day by the rector of the USC, Antonio López; the Regional Minister of Health of the Xunta de Galicia, Antonio Gómez Caamaño; the deputy director of CiMUS, José Luis Labandeira, and the scientific director of IDIS, Mª Luz Couce.
Photos: Santi Alvite.