Cancer treatments: AREVA and Inserm sign a research agreement

AREVA and its subsidiary AREVA Med today announced the signature of a cooperative research agreement with the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research (INSERM) for the development of innovative cancer treatments.

The group has developed a process to extract Lead‑212 from thorium derived from past industrial activities. Lead-212 is a rare radioactive isotope that lies at the heart of promising nuclear medical research to develop new cancer treatments. It is used in radioimmunotherapy to pinpoint and destroy cancer cells.

The AREVA/INSERM research program will be chaired by Dr. Jean-Pierre Pouget, Head of the Radiobiology Department at the Montpellier Cancer Research Institute under the direction of Dr. André Pèlegrin.

“We are delighted to be working with INSERM. This agreement is further proof of AREVA’s desire to step up its activities in the field of nuclear medicine and use its know-how and technology to innovate by joining forces with the world’s leading laboratories”, said Patrick Bourdet, CEO of AREVA Med, speaking at the signing ceremony.

In nuclear medicine, the development of new treatments depends on isotope availability. In March 2010, AREVA Med announced the construction of a Lead-212 industrial production plant in the Limousin region (France) that will allow the creation of new targeted therapies for patients.