Imagion Biosystems Limited announces it has entered into a collaboration agreement with Siemens Healthcare Pty Ltd of Australia (Siemens Healthineers) to further explore the utility of Imagion’s MagSense® nanoparticles as an MRI contrast agent.
The collaboration will see Siemens Healthineers work with Imagion to identify optimal MRI scanning protocols for the MagSense® HER2 targeted nanoparticles. Siemens Healthineers in-kind contribution of expertise and provision of technical support to clinical sites will be valuable should Imagion undertake a study in Australia which includes MRI scans.
Imagion has previously announced that it is planning for its first clinical study of the MagSense® technology in HER2 breast cancer patients. The MagSense® nanoparticles are designed to be detectable only when attached to cancer cells providing a specific means of cancer imaging, and has a received Breakthrough Device designation from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The collaboration with Siemens is in line with Imagion’s strategy to explore an additional and alternative use of the MagSense® nanoparticles as an MRI contrast agent.
Imagion Biosystems presented its first data showing that the MagSense® nanoparticles could be used as a magnetic resonance imaging agent, at the World Molecular Imaging Conference in September 2019. This collaboration establishes a path for Imagion to further explore MRI as a commercial pathway leveraging the large global installed base of existing MRI scanners.
Contrast agents are used to enhance the image and improve resolution. To-date, imaging agents have been general purpose, creating contrast at tissue boundaries but not providing functional imaging utility. A targeted MagSense® nanoparticle could be used as a contrast agent to enhance an MR image of specific diseased tissue, thus providing a clear and accurate method to use imaging to non-invasively detect cancer with existing imaging technology.
“We are very pleased to have Siemens Healthineers offer of assistance as we look at all the possibilities to develop and commercialize our technology,” said Bob Proulx, Executive Chairman of Imagion Biosystems. “The ability to use a targeted contrast agent like ours, in the MRI setting, could transform the way MRI is used to diagnose cancer and other diseases. In entering into this collaboration, we will jointly gain insight into the clinical and commercial potential of our novel technology. We are proud that Imagion continues to attract the support of leading industry players and opinion leaders.”
“Siemens Healthineers has a strong focus on expanding Precision Medicine and transforming care delivery,” said Dr Kieran O’Brien, Head of Collaborations and Research for Australia and New Zealand for Siemens Healthcare Pty Ltd, “Imagion’s targeted contrast technology MagSense® could offer patients a more specific means to monitor cancer with MRI, and we look forward to assisting Imagion in investigating the application of their technology with MRI scanners.”
Siemens Healthineers is a leading medical technology company. With over 120 years of experience, Siemens Healthineers is enabling healthcare providers to increase their value through digitalised healthcare. Siemens Healthineers portfolio of products and services is largely compromised of its core areas of diagnostic and therapeutic imaging, laboratory diagnostics and molecular medicine.
