NYC-based biomedical acceleration and development company, Q BioMed Inc. announces that the company has initiated production of Strontium-89 Chloride, a radiopharmaceutical indicated for the analgesic treatment of metastatic breast and prostate cancer bone pain.
Denis Corin, CEO of the Company said, “This is a major milestone in our short history. We are very excited to bring this product to market less than one year after finalizing the licensing agreement. There is an acute demand for an affordable and effective alternative to opiate based drugs in this patient population. We know this proven drug is effective and well tolerated with limited side-effects. We look forward to making it available as widely as possible and as quickly as possible. We believe there is significant opportunity to build this franchise and expand the revenue opportunity associated with it.”
Approximately 70% of patients with advanced breast and prostate cancer metastases will develop bone metastases, an extremely painful condition. Bone metastases occur in most tumor types but are most prevalent in cancers of the breast, prostate, and lung. These bone lesions can cause serious skeletal complications, including spinal cord or nerve root compression, hypercalcemia of malignancy, pathologic fractures, and severe bone pain which can significantly compromise quality of life and may negatively affect survival. Palliation of pain, prevention of skeletal complications, and maintenance of quality of life are the primary objectives in managing patients with metastatic bone disease.
AB-Rated Strontium Chloride Sr89 Injection USP (Sr89) can be used in combination with or to reduce the need for opiate based drugs, as well as in combination with cancer therapeutic drugs. After administration, pain relief can occur in as little as one to two weeks and can last several months, when another dose can be administered with minimal side effects. Clinical studies have demonstrated that for many, the combination of alternating weekly chemohormonal therapies with Sr89 demonstrated a prolonged and progression-free survival.
The company expects to provide more information regarding initial commercialization in the coming weeks.
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About Strontium-89 Chloride
Following intravenous injection, soluble strontium compounds behave like their calcium analogs, clearing rapidly from the blood and selectively localizing in bone mineral. Uptake of strontium by bone occurs preferentially in sites of active osteogenesis; thus primary bone tumors and areas of metastatic involvement (blastic lesions) can accumulate significantly greater concentrations of strontium than surrounding normal bone. Strontium-89 Chloride is retained in metastatic bone lesions much longer than in normal bone, where turnover is about 14 days. In patients with extensive skeletal metastases, well over half of the injected dose is retained in the bones. Excretion pathways are two-thirds urinary and one-third fecal in patients with bone metastases. Urinary excretion is higher in people without bone lesions. Urinary excretion is greatest in the first two days following injection. Strontium-89 is a pure beta emitter and Strontium-89 Chloride selectively irradiates sites of primary and metastatic bone involvement with minimal irradiation of soft tissues distant from the bone lesions. (The maximum range in tissue is 8 mm; maximum energy is 1.463 MeV.) Clinical trials have examined relief of pain in cancer patients who have received therapy for bone metastases (external radiation to indexed sites) but in whom persistent pain recurred.
