- START, XenoSTART, and Minerva Imaging have expanded their partnership to create an integrated platform for radiopharmaceutical drug development.
- The collaboration combines XenoSTART’s clinically annotated PDX models with Minerva Imaging’s molecular imaging and GMP manufacturing capabilities.
START has announced the expansion of its decade-long partnership with XenoSTART and Minerva Imaging to establish a comprehensive platform for radiopharmaceutical drug development. The collaboration integrates XenoSTART’s repository of patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models with Minerva Imaging’s expertise in molecular imaging, radionuclide therapy, and GMP-certified manufacturing.
Radiopharmaceuticals are among the fastest-growing areas in oncology, offering targeted tumor therapies while sparing healthy tissue. The therapies are already influencing standards of care in metastatic prostate cancer and are being explored in other indications, such as breast and neuroendocrine tumors. The expanded partnership aims to provide sponsors with robust, translational platforms to shorten development timelines and reduce risk.
“By combining XenoSTART’s deep expertise in clinically annotated PDX models with Minerva Imaging’s state-of-the-art facilities for radiopharmaceutical drug development, we are delivering the gold standard in translational oncology research to target cancers such as prostate. For sponsors, this means faster, smarter, and more predictable development of life-changing therapies.”
Nick Slack, Chairman and CEO of START
Minerva Imaging operates as a fully integrated CRO and CDMO for radiopharmaceuticals, offering PET/CT, SPECT/CT, and MRI imaging, advanced orthotopic in vivo models, and GMP manufacturing infrastructure. Carsten H. Nielsen, Co-founder and CEO of Minerva Imaging, highlighted that the collaboration strengthens the translational bridge, enabling therapies to move from bench to bedside efficiently.
XenoSTART’s PDX models are derived from patients treated across START’s global network, ensuring clinically relevant disease representation. Michael Wick, Chief Scientific Officer of XenoSTART, noted that expanding the collaboration ensures sponsors benefit from the integration of predictive preclinical models with advanced radiopharmaceutical development, particularly in prostate cancer.
