MON AM News: SHINE supplying key material to UK cancer therapy company; Dane Co. health officials issue overdose alert

June 10, 2024

— SHINE Technologies is supplying UK-based Blue Earth Therapeutics with a key material for a prostate cancer clinical trial, the Janesville company says.

In a recent release, SHINE announced its partnership with the business, which develops radiopharmaceutical medicines. SHINE has provided the first supply of its lutetium-177 chloride — or Ilumira — product to Blue Earth Therapeutics, for use in clinical trials evaluating a possible treatment for prostate cancer patients.

Greg Piefer, founder and CEO of SHINE, says this product is meant to “give the world access to a cleaner, safer and more cost-effective and robust source” of Lu-177 to improve care for cancer patients.

Radiopharmaceuticals, typically made up of a radioactive molecule and a targeting component, can be used to diagnose or treat diseases. They can be used to “localize therapy” to tumors, while limiting damage to nearby healthy tissues.

The announcement notes non-carrier added Lu-177 has faced significant challenges in its supply chain, as only a limited number of reactors produce the material. SHINE has the most production capacity for the material in the country, according to a release, and is one of the only producers or precursor material ytterbium-176 outside of Russia.

It’s more difficult to create non-carrier added Lu-177 than carrier-added Lu-177, which includes inactive materials meant to ensure radioactivity stability, SHINE notes. But producing the non-carrier added version “leads to a much more useful end result” with fewer drawbacks, the company’s website shows.

To produce it, SHINE bombards pure ytterbium-176 with neutrons, creating a less stable form called Yb-177, which then decays into Lu-177. This form of the element “can be more readily used, has a stronger therapeutic concentration, and reduces post-procedure radioactive waste,” the company says.

Still, the rarity of the precursor material is one drawback to this approach. SHINE currently sources the pure form of ytterbium-176 from fission reactors, but plans to phase out this supply chain over the next few years in favor of its own in-house production method.

Earlier this year, SHINE submitted its Drug Master File to the FDA for non-carrier added Lu-177, which it produces at its Cassiopeia facility in Janesville.

“We’re rapidly scaling production to meet the demand created by exciting new therapies,” Piefer said in the announcement. “Treating cancer, especially for people who historically have had no hope, is a wonderful way to advance our long-term ambitions to create a better world using nuclear technology.”

David Gauden, CEO of Blue Earth Therapeutics, says the partnership with SHINE will help the company develop “next generation” nuclear medicines for cancer patients through clinical trials.

“Critically, this also helps to further de-risk and improve the efficiency of our supply chain in the United States, an important element in the delivery of radiopharmaceuticals,” Gauden said.

See the release and listen to a recent podcast with Piefer.

— Dane County health officials have issued an overdose alert, warning of increased overdose frequency and “unusual symptoms” being reported by first responders.

Public Health Madison & Dane County late last week said at least 10 people had been treated for suspected opioid overdoses in the county within the last two days, based on data from hospitals and emergency medical service providers. The agency notes that’s more overdoses than normal.

Meanwhile, local first responders had treated seven people over the past week who reported experiencing drowsiness, nausea, sedation and weakness after consuming crack cocaine.

Public Health Supervisor Julia Olsen says the agency is monitoring similar incidents in Milwaukee and Chicago linked to a synthetic animal tranquilizer called Medetomidine. It’s a “relatively new” sedative that’s been approved for dogs in Canada, according to the National Institutes of Health.

“We often see drug traffic patterns in larger neighboring cities eventually affect Madison, so this is something we want our communities to know about,” Olsen said in a statement.

See the release.

Top stories from the Health Care Report…

— U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, voted to advance a bill seeking to safeguard access to contraception as it failed 51-39 to clear a procedural vote. U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, opposed the bill.

For more of the most relevant health care news, reports on groundbreaking research in Wisconsin, links to top stories and more, sign up today for the free daily Health Care Report from WisPolitics and WisBusiness.com.

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— The latest MMAC report shows “modest improvement” in the region’s economic situation, though more than half of the region’s major industries lost jobs over the year.

In the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce’s April economic trends report, 10 of the 23 economic indicators improved over the year, marking an increase over the eight positive indicators in March’s report. The upward movement follows “months of sluggishness,” according to the report.

MMAC Vice President of Economic Research Bret Mayborne says the aggregate number of positive indicators increased for the first time since October 2023, suggesting it’s “an early sign that the local economic trend may have turned the corner.”

Still, he adds: “It’s too early to say anything conclusive but the improvement in the aggregate total as well as a slower decline in overall nonfarm job levels represent positive signs.”

Nonfarm jobs in the area fell 0.3% over the year, marking the fifth month in a row of employment declines, but above March’s decrease of 0.9%.

Meanwhile, six of the region’s 10 major industry sectors lost jobs over the year in April, with the largest drop of 6.7% seen in the information sector. The greatest increases were seen in the government sector, up 3.4%, and health services, 2.2%.

See the report.

— Racine banker Alvaro Araque has been named board chair for the Wisconsin Bankers Association.

Araque is senior vice president and director of consumer, private, and business banking for Johnson Financial Group, where he’s worked since 2021.

WBA President and CEO Rose Oswald Poels says the organization is “very pleased” to have him lead its board.

“Al’s extensive industry experience, coupled with his unsurpassed enthusiasm, will no doubt have a positive impact on our organization, the banking industry, and the communities we serve,” she said in a statement.

See the release.

— In a recent Republican radio address, Sen. Howard Marklein celebrates Wisconsin’s dairy farmers.

The Spring Green Republican spotlights dairy breakfasts being held on farms around Wisconsin to highlight the importance of the dairy industry to Wisconsin.

“The dairy industry contributes billions of dollars in economic output and supports thousands of jobs in our communities across the state,” Marklein says.

If Wisconsin were a country, it would rank fourth in the world in cheese production, with more than a quarter of the cheese produced in the United States originating from the state, according to Marklein.

“Our farmers and processors are the backbone of many of our communities,” he says. “Our ag community is an essential part of our state and they are inviting you to breakfast this month. I hope you will join us.”

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