Research Breakthroughs in Imaging Biomarker Technology

While currently the largest distributor of positron emission tomography (PET) radiopharmaceuticals in the United States and expanding internationally into countries and regions, such as India, the United Kingdom, Korea, and Australia, Siemens Healthcare (Erlangen, Germany) is also making progress into developing new imaging biomarkers that may be used in the future.

Siemens Molecular Imaging Biomarker Research facility, located in Los Angeles, CA, USA, has recently submitted an Investigational New Drug (IND) application for a new imaging agent that will help with imaging hypoxic tumors, which may be resistant to standard treatment involving chemotherapy. This type of imaging biomarker may be valuable in managing the treatment options for cancer patients.

Siemens also recently announced that the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) has filed a cross-reference letter to a Type II Drug Master File that Siemens submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for its investigational 3'Deoxy-3'[18F] fluorothymidine (F-18 FLT) imaging biomarker. The cross reference allows F-18 FLT to be produced by Siemens/PETNET and used by any principle investigator in an NCI multicenter clinical trial. Moreover, the imaging biomarker will be available to independent investigators if they receive NCI approval. F-18 FLT is produced by Siemens Molecular Imaging Biomarker Research and PETNET Solutions, subsidiaries of Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc. The imaging biomarker has been used in studies monitoring the proliferative activity of cancer cells and it is currently being used in phase I clinical trials at several research sites.

Siemens Molecular Imaging (MI) University provides a substantive training resource for Siemens' customers. Designed to be used by the interpreting physician, referring physician, and technologist, MI University demonstrates the benefits of hybrid PET-computed tomography (CT) and single photon emission tomography- (SPECT)-CT systems, including when and how hybrid imaging influences patient management, through access to valuable clinical data and detailed case studies; video lectures; product information; and a tool for information exchange among peers

Siemens Healthcare is one of the world's largest suppliers to the healthcare industry. The company is a medical solutions provider with core competence in diagnostic and therapeutic technologies as well as in knowledge engineering, including information technology and system integration. With its laboratory diagnostics acquisitions, Siemens Healthcare is a fully integrated diagnostics company, bringing together imaging and lab diagnostics, therapy, and healthcare information technology solutions, supplemented by consulting and support services.


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