PASADENA, Calif.
Fuzionaire Diagnostics (“Fuzionaire Dx”), in partnership with Tokyo-based radiopharmaceutical company Japan Medical Isotope Technology Development K.K. (“JAMIT”), today announced the launch of Fuzionaire Radioisotope Technologies K.K. (“FRIT”). FRIT will work to commercialize Fuzionaire Dx’s technology in Japan, expanding Fuzionaire Dx’s fluorine-18 radiolabeling platform through partnerships with Japanese pharmaceutical companies and research institutions and exploring new possibilities in alpha-emitting radiotherapeutics for cancer treatment.
The company will be led by Hiroshi Nakashita, MD, experienced in pharmaceutical industry commercial operation. Dr. Nakashita also has deep functional experience in health care policy shaping in Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Japan as a government official earlier in his career. Dr. Nakashita will serve as FRIT’s CEO.
“Fuzionaire’s technologies open up new possibilities for disease diagnosis and treatment,” said Dr. Nakashita, CEO of FRIT. “After years of delay in research and development in these areas due to the political landscape, we are thrilled to have the technology and talent to bring necessary advancements to our country.”
Dr. Nakashita is joined by founding special advisor Takeo Morooka, MD, MPH, co-founder and CEO of JAMIT, and founder of the Japan Foundation of Medical Isotope Development (“JAFMID”), whose work is aimed at advancing medicine, promoting population health, and developing the medical industry in Japan by addressing technological, manufacturing, and regulatory issues in medical isotope development. Dr. Morooka successively held important positions in pharmaceutical and medical device industry.
“After the Fukushima disaster, new restrictions were implemented in Japan that have impacted nuclear medicine,” said Dr. Morooka, special advisor to FRIT. “We believe JAMIT’s and Fuzionaire Diagnostics’ joint efforts through Fuzionaire Radioisotope Technologies K.K. could accelerate the critical development of radiopharmaceuticals in Japan and add to the conversation about the importance of medical isotope technologies in Japan and the world.”
Based on a breakthrough in catalysis by Chief Science Officer Anton Toutov, PhD, Fuzionaire Dx’s chemistry platform dramatically accelerates radiopharmaceutical discovery and improves manufacturing of radiolabeled molecules. This fundamentally changes the way in which researchers and clinicians are able to detect and treat disease.
Already in partnership with leading research institutes in the US, Fuzionaire Dx’s expansion to Japan represents an opportunity to leverage these capabilities in countries with a strong need for advancements in nuclear medicine.
“In Japan, challenges with nuclear medicine are top of mind but also extremely pertinent to public health. We’re thrilled to be working with such accomplished and experienced collaborators who recognize the opportunity to improve technologies that can directly impact the health of the country,” said Nick Slavin, CEO of Fuzionaire Dx.
FRIT’s board of directors includes Hiroshi Nakashita, MD, CEO of FRIT; Nick Slavin, CEO of Fuzionaire Dx; and Anton Toutov, PhD, Chief Science Officer of Fuzionaire Dx.
About Fuzionaire Radioisotope Technologies K.K.
Fuzionaire Radioisotope Technologies K.K. (“FRIT”) is a Tokyo-based radiopharmaceutical company commercializing Fuzionaire Diagnostics’ technology in Japan, expanding Fuzionaire Dx’s fluorine-18 radiolabeling platform through partnerships with Japanese pharmaceutical companies and research institutions. The company is also developing new alpha-emitting radiotherapeutics using Fuzionaire Diagnostics’ chemistry.
About Japan Medical Isotope Technology Development K.K.
Japan Medical Isotope Technology Development K.K. (“JAMIT”) is a Tokyo-based company. JAMIT is in the business of developing new technologies for creating medical isotopes and radiopharmaceuticals. It was co-founded in 2019 by pharmaceutical executives Takeo Morooka, MD, MPH, and Manasori Shibuya.
About Fuzionaire Diagnostics, Inc.
Fuzionaire Diagnostics (“Fuzionaire Dx”) is a radiopharmaceutical company.
Our patented HetSiFA™ compositions, which are synthesized using our alkali metal catalysis, can incorporate radioisotopes into drug compounds and disease-targeting ligands at record-breaking speed.
We make it possible to rapidly produce a broad range of fluorine-18 radiopharmaceuticals for PET imaging using a single catalyst-driven, disease-agnostic platform. Our technology offers researchers and clinicians a new strategy to accelerate drug discovery and detect, diagnose, and monitor more diseases, earlier, and with unprecedented precision.
In addition to biological imaging for drug discovery and clinical applications, our chemistry is being applied to the development of novel anti-cancer radiotherapeutics.
Fuzionaire Dx was co-founded by a team including CEO Nick Slavin, Chief Science Officer Anton Toutov, PhD, and Nova Spivack, and is advised by leading researchers in nuclear medicine and drug discovery.
For more, visit us at: www.fuzionairedx.com
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