AMIC to develop proprietary brachytherapy treatment

Advanced Medical Isotope Corporation (AMIC) has entered into an agreement to develop a proprietary brachytherapy treatment with the Richland, Wash.-based Battelle, which operates the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and the department of pharmaceutics and pharmaceutical chemistry at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

AMIC has proposed the development of a proprietary concept for controlled delivery of yttrium-90 (Y-90) microspheres embedded in resorbable seed-shape materials for tissue-directed, high-dose intra-tumoral therapy. Use of Y-90 will help to minimize the radiation dose to nearby normal tissues compared to x-rays from standard seeds, which is designed to improve the treatment of confined or non-resectable tumors and is based on fast-dissolving polymer-matrix chemistry, according to AMIC.

The Kennewick, Wash.-based AMIC said that the method may provide a lower-cost alternative to existing metallic seeds, as well as having the strong possibility of delivering a greater biologically effective radiation dose to tumors.

The company said it will seek FDA medical device approval during 2009.

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