NorthStar Medical Radioisotopes has entered into a sponsorship agreement with an undisclosed major U.S. research institution, which will undertake an investigator-initiated research project titled, “Program to Find a Cure for ANCA-associated Vasculitis Through Research,” the organization announced recently.
According to a release, the study will have four underlying projects:

• Investigate how to best develop and validate both noninvasive PET imaging to identify inflamed tissue in ANCA-associated vasculitis and radionuclide therapy that selectively targets autoreactive B cells to treat this form of vasculitis,
• Establish basic administrative tasks (e.g., program coordination, biospecimen collection, database maintenance, etc.),
• Identify new precision immunotherapies that will selectively target and eliminate autoreactive B cells in ANCA-associated vasculitis, and
• Single-out and decode antigen-specific B cells in ANCA-associated vasculitis to address autoimmune reactions that contribute to inflammation of the vessels.

“At NorthStar, we believe we’re on the cusp of a global paradigm shift in the development and commercialization of effective new radiodiagnostics and radiotherapies that can potentially be applied to rare, complex conditions such as ANCA-associated vasculitis,” NorthStar President and CEO Dr. Frank Scholz said in a statement. “By supporting this broad research program, NorthStar can expand our horizons past cancer diagnosis and therapies and play a key role in the effort to find a cure for this constellation of complex conditions.”

The study will be conducted at the undisclosed research institution.