Orano Inaugurates a New Lead-212-Based Radioligand Therapies Production Site
Earlier this October, Orano Med, a subsidiary of Orano (ENS Corporate Member), announced the inauguration of its ATLab (Alpha Therapy Laboratory) in Valenciennes, France. It is Europe’s first industrial-scale pharmaceutical facility dedicated to producing lead-212-based radioligand therapies.
Lead-212 is increasingly recognised for its role in targeted alpha therapies (TATs), offering precision treatments by delivering potent alpha particles directly to cancerous cells while sparing healthy tissue.
The ATLab Valenciennes is expected to produce lead-212-based targeted alpha therapies on a large scale in order to meet the needs of patients across Europe. In the medium term, ATLab will produce up to 10,000 doses per year, with potential full-capacity production five times that amount.
The half-life of lead-212 is 10.6 hours, so treatments must be produced, shipped, and given to patients within 24 hours. Due to the short time span, the lab is located 2 hours from Paris-Charles De Gaulle Airport as well as Brussels Zaventem Airport.
The strategic location makes it easy to deliver treatments to hospitals across the continent within the required time limit and cover nearly 70% of Europe.
The facility, financially supported under the France 2030 Plan, is similar to the one being commissioned in Indianapolis to serve the US market. These two ATLabs complete Orano Med’s fully integrated platform, which helps address challenges associated with targeted therapies such as isotope availability and scalable manufacturing.
Read the full Orano Press Release
ENS and Orano recently organised the webinar “From Isotopes to Innovative Therapies | Perspectives on Radiopharmaceutical Supply Chains and RLTs”, dedicating a special focus to Orano Med and its work at the intersection of biotechnology and nuclear expertise, with a focus on the development and production of a new class of radioligand therapies (RLT) in oncology, covering its approach to lead-212 targeted alpha therapy (TAT) and its integration of activities from R&D through to pharmaceutical production.
Watch it now: ENS Webinar – From Isotopes to Innovative Therapies | Perspectives on Radiopharmaceutical Supply Chains and RLTs
Earlier this year, the ENS High Scientific Council published Briefing and Position Papers that also highlight the importance of strengthening Europe’s medical nuclear ecosystem, from research and infrastructure to regulation, supply chains and long-term innovation capacity, to ensure patients can benefit from the next generation of nuclear medicine technologies.
