Carolyn Anderson (UT/ORNL): The Evolution and Future Directions of Radiopharmaceutical Therapies

Monday Oct 26, 2026, 1:50 PM → 2:40 PM US/Eastern

604 (Nielsen)

Over the past few decades, the field of targeted radiopharmaceutical therapy (TRT) with radiometals has expanded immensely, with many agents translated to human studies and a few reaching FDA approval since 2018. Currently, the most widely-used radionuclide for TRT is Lu-177 (T_1/2 = 6.7 d; b^-_mean = 147 keV). The next generation of TRT radionuclides includes Tb-161(T_1/2 = 6.95 d; b^-_mean = 197 keV), which in addition to the b^- emission also emits 12-fold more low energy conversion and Auger electrons (0-50 keV) than Lu-177. TRT clinical trials with Tb-161 reported from Australia show great promise for achieving better outcomes than the same agent labeled with Lu-177.  Radiopharmaceuticals labeled with alpha-emitting radionuclides are the next frontier for treating cancer, and there are at least 10 clinical trials underway with ²²⁵Ac-labeled agents. Another emerging TRT radionuclide is Pb-212 (T_1/2 = 10.6 h), which emits both b^- and a particles. Oak Ridge National Lab is a producer of both ²²⁵Ac from the ²²⁹Th/²²⁵Ac generator, and ²¹²Pb from the ²²⁸Th/²²⁴Ra/²¹²Pb generator. This presentation will provide an overview of the development of FDA-approved ¹⁷⁷Lu-dotatate (Lutathera) that was in development for over 2 decades, and ongoing and future directions in ¹⁶¹Tb and ²¹²Pb agents.