Behind the science

1/Nuclear Medicine

Diagnostic tool.

A powerful tool for physicians

Cardiologists and Oncologists are two medical specialties that have been using radiopharmaceuticals in their practices for many years. Cardiologists have used radiopharmaceuticals primarily as a diagnostic tool for cardiac conditions, while Oncologists currently use them for both diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.

How POINT is expanding the reach of radiopharmaceuticals

We are focused on creating new radiopharmaceutical therapies by developing more effective targeting agents and combining them with isotopes that can be administered in outpatient settings.

2/ Medical Isotopes

Icons for Lutetium, Fluorine, Actinium, Gallium

How POINT is using medical isotopes

We use a variety of medical isotopes, both manufactured in-house as well as sourced from external suppliers, to enable us to maintain a position at the forefront of radiopharmaceuticals.

We are focused on using the optimal medical isotope to create the most effective radiopharmaceutical product.

3/ Radioligands

Radioligands diagram

Radioligands are like microscopic, cancer-seeking missiles

There are three parts to a radioligand: the ligand, the medical isotope, and the linker. The ligand is a chemical compound that is designed to specifically bind to receptors overexpressed in tumors. The medical isotope emits high-energy particles that damage the DNA of the cells within the tumor leading to cell death. The linker attaches the medical isotope to the ligand, enabling the medical isotope to be delivered to the tumor.

The benefits of radioligands

Compared to chemotherapy, which is not a targeted therapy and can cause extensive damage to healthy tissue and organs, radioligands precisely deliver radiation to tumors,  damaging the DNA of cells within the tumor while preserving surrounding tissues.

4/ Targeting FAP-α in the Tumor Microenvironment

CanSEEK™ diagram

Safer: better

Toxicity caused by off-target delivery is a longstanding concern of cancer therapies. POINT’s CanSEEK™ technology aims to minimize toxicity caused by off-target delivery by only activating a radiopharmaceuticals' targeting moiety, such as its ligand after it has encountered FAP-α in the tumor microenvironment (TME).

The radiopharmaceutical is unable to bind to receptors on cells when its targeting moiety is disabled, thereby minimizing the toxicity caused by off-target delivery. When the radiopharmaceuticals enter the TME, its targeting moiety is activated, enabling it to once again bind to receptors on the cancer cells contained in the tumor.

The next frontier

CanSEEK™ has the potential to make treatments even more precise, expanding the therapeutic index, and also enabling the use of new, more powerful medical isotopes.

POINT's CanSEEK™ has been sub-licensed from both Bach Biosciences and Avacta Life Sciences, which has branded the technology as pre | CISION™ (an Avacta trademark).