Molecular imaging

Approaches in molecular imaging pre-clinically, and now clinically, have certainly taken shape in the last 3-4 years. The overall trend here is to diagnose and see disease before it progresses, to understand the complexion of disease, and to translate this understanding into earlier and more effective decisions in drug development and in treatment of patients. At VisEn Medical, we’re pioneering the development of novel imaging agents and optical tomographic imaging systems that enable truly sensitive and robust imaging of molecular activity both in animals and in humans. This translatability from animals to humans is central to everything we do.

Right now our technology platforms are having a significant impact in drug development, and tomorrow they will fundamentally change many of the detection, characterization and treatment patterns in patients. This is exactly where we are focused.

In what key ways is it changing the way that drugs are developed?

Today in research and drug development, the processes of compound development and in vitro testing are quite robust and high throughput. We believe that this process becomes much less sensitive, specific and robust once drugs enter into animals – but this is really a key step before entering human clinical trials. The goal therefore is effectively to translate in vitro readouts on molecular activity into the pre-clinical, in vivo setting. The more powerful our imaging technologies can be, the more researchers will be able to have a window into the true molecular pathways inside the living animals, and the more responsive decision making can be on a particular drug. This is where we are focused, and this is exactly what we see our customers doing today with our technologies. Of course, the bigger picture trend is from pre-clinical models and into the clinic, and this is where we’ll evolve our product platforms over time.

What other changes has it enabled, for example, in the way that patients are being treated?

Eventually, we believe that our optical molecular imaging approaches will play a key role in the way patients are diagnosed, profiled and treated. As molecular medicine evolves, optical imaging will be used to examine the basis of disease and to ensure early disease detection and very sensitive characterization. And the characterization is key. It is simply not enough just to see that disease is there – our technologies are designed to enable physicians to actually see what the profile of the disease is, and this leads to more effective therapy. For example, molecular imaging will allow physicians to better stage a patient’s tumor, image the actual vulnerability of a plaque forming within an artery, and follow therapeutic responses through the very specific monitoring of disease.

We are working in several areas now in the pre-clinical segment, and we expect these approaches to provide pathways into the clinic. Much of this is, of course, done in close collaboration with pharmaceutical companies and leading academic centers in oncology, inflammation and cardiovascular disease – the true centers of core applications. We expect these close ties with the core researchers to be a key part of our clinical success.

What technologies in particular are you most excited about?

We’re focused in optical molecular imaging, which can be thought of as the translation of fluorescent based readouts from the in vitro world and into an in vivo environment. We’ve seen fluorescence fundamentally open up the fields of genomics, proteomics and cell-based assays – and this is what we’re bringing into animals and people now. Within this, there are several areas that are going to be revolutionary. One is the use of fluorescence-based activatible probes. By this I mean a sensitive and specific molecular ‘detection systems’ that work in the body as actual molecular ‘switches’ when they see disease. Another is the use of Fluorescent Molecular Tomography, which allows deep tissue tomographic slicing of molecular maps through the body.

Pharmaceutical companies are adopting these new approaches in developing and refining drugs that target molecular structures, and this will ultimately change the way disease is diagnosed and treated.

We’re also now developing a platform of biocompatible, super-bright, target-able nanoparticles that we expect to compliment both our probe portfolio and the FMT in enabling imaging of a range of disease targets in vivo.

What’s next for molecular imaging technologies and their application in healthcare? Do you have any developments or plans of your own that you would like to talk about?

We are part of a real sea-change in how disease is seen, understood and treated. From genomic profiling to molecular imaging, to personalized therapy, we’re part of a new continuum in healthcare all based on much better approaches to mapping the molecular profiles of disease in drug development and into the clinic, then applying therapy in earlier, better ways. And, of course, these advances are being driven by a range of very talented and committed partners including leading academic researchers, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, imaging system manufacturers, and groups like NCI, NIH and FDA. We are really thrilled to be part of the community that is making this all possible.

Today, I’m convinced that these new technologies and approaches will change the way disease is understood and managed, and I think all of our focus will be on translating many of these approaches into clinical medicine as soon and as well as possible. It is a unique time and I am convinced that these new approaches will change medicine as we know it now. I am very excited to be a part of it.