Clarity Pharmaceuticals and the University of Melbourne have been co-awarded an Australian Research Council (ARC) Linkage Grant to progress their partnership on diagnostic imaging.
The grant, valued at $365,000 over three years, will fund the development of new agents for diagnostic imaging using positron emission tomography (PET).
Clarity Pharmaceuticals is a personalised medicine company focused on the treatment of serious disease.
Clarity said the ultimate aim is to try and improve clinical results for patients including the molecular imaging of the brain for various disorders, where PET imaging has high image quality.
This ARC Grant will fund research into the use of PET isotopes of copper, gallium and fluorine with a view to replacing existing technologies that rely on single-photon emission from technetium and the technique of single photon emission computed tomography.
The Grant has been co-awarded to Associate Professor Paul Donnelly at the Department of Chemistry and Bio21 Institute, University of Melbourne.
Associate Professor Donnelly has expertise in the application of coordination chemistry to metal-based drugs and the study of metal ions in biological systems. Associate Professor Donnelly is the inventor of several patents for radiopharmaceutical technologies.
This month Clarity also in-licensed from the University of Melbourne two patents from Associate Professor Donnelly’s portfolio, stemming from a previous ARC Grant between Clarity and the University of Melbourne between 2012-2014. These licenses cover analogues of the sarcophagine chelators and complement a strong patent family held by Clarity.
These patents are being used for applications in the imaging of cancer with a clinical trial currently underway. The collaborative approach between the University of Melbourne and Clarity demonstrates the success of the ARC Linkage model.
According to Clarity CEO, Dr Matthew Harris, “Grants like ARC Linkage are vital for supporting innovation in Australia and enhance the industry competitiveness on the global arena.
“This grant is a result of continuous collaboration between Clarity and the University of Melbourne and we are proud that our translational approach to science brings strong positive outcomes. Our team is looking forward to progressing the opportunity to support development and commercialisation of new treatments to ensure better patient outcomes.”