This collaboration enhances global educational benchmarks in radiotheranostics
and aims to expand patient access to a new era of effective cancer therapeutics
in South Africa.
July 4, 2024 - Wiesbaden, Germany, and Pretoria Central, South Africa. Today,
the International Centers for Precision Oncology (ICPO) Foundation and Nuclear
Medicine Research Infrastructure (NuMeRI) in Pretoria, South Africa announced
their cooperation in establishing the theranostics center as one of the global
ICPO Collaborating Centers. The parties intend to enable a growing number of
patients worldwide access to Radiomolecular Precision Oncology (RPO) and further
promote research and development in the fields of RPO. Moreover, the NuMeRI will
support the joint development and enhancement of best practice standards in
South Africa and their implementation in professional development to establish
the internationally active "ICPO Academy for Theranostics."
The ICPO Foundation aims to develop an international network of physical
diagnostic and therapeutic centers dedicated to Radiomolecular Precision
Oncology. It has launched the ICPO Academy for Theranostics and is driving
forward the research of innovative radiopharmaceuticals. The Foundation's
mission is to ensure that cutting-edge cancer therapies are accessible to
patients worldwide. The ICPO Centers work under a social operating model based
on shared know-how, certified education, and standardized design and processes
that enable the implementation of best clinical practices on a global scale. The
ICPO Foundation has successfully established ICPO Collaborating Centers in
Germany, China, India, Australia and Egypt. Expansion plans are underway, with
upcoming centers in locations globally.
The Nuclear Medicine Research Infrastructure (NuMeRI), an integral component
within the South African Research Infrastructure Roadmap (SARIR) of the
Department of Science and Technology, serves as a specialized medical imaging
facility with a dedicated focus on advancing drug development and clinical
research in the realm of nuclear technologies for medicine and biosciences.
NuMeRI as a South African national infrastructure partners with University of
Pretoria, Steve Biko Academic Hospital, NECSA, iThemba Labs and all South
African universities. Operating within the healthcare domain, NuMeRI fosters a
collaborative environment for medical research and practice, driven by the
shared objective of improving public health. The research conducted at NuMeRI is
oriented towards the development of therapies targeting national priority
diseases.
NuMeRI plays a pivotal role in bolstering the public healthcare sector by
providing essential infrastructure that is unique to its fields and by
facilitating the development of critical and scarce skilled medical
professionals. The objectives of NuMeRI align inherently with the priorities
outlined by the National Department of Health. The infrastructure rollout plan
of NuMeRI involved a phased approach, including establishing an interim pre-
clinical imaging facility at Necsa, Pelindaba, designed to ensure immediate
operations during the construction of the primary NuMeRI site. The completed
infrastructure situated at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital is now a one-stop
shop for imaging and therapy.
The NuMeRI will provide advice and recommendations to the ICPO Foundation on how
precision oncology's international quality standards, processes, and procedures
can be best implemented in South Africa. The aim of the parties is that the
theranostics center in Pretoria promote the "ICPO Academy for Theranostics" in
South Africa, including at national society meetings, and act as a point of
contact in South Africa for interested parties and registration of participants.
The center will be allowed under ICPO certification and in alignment with the
ICPO Academy curriculum for practical training of physicians, chemists,
physicists, nurses, technologists, and other participants in its facilities for
various time durations. NuMeRI will provide advice and recommendations to ICPO
on how international quality standards, processes, and procedures of precision
oncology can be best implemented in South Africa
Odile Jaume, CEO of the ICPO Foundation, expressed her intense enthusiasm for
the partnership, stating: "This collaboration positions the Theranostics Center
NuMeRI in Pretoria as a leading partner within both the ICPO network and South
Africa, marking a new chapter in cancer care. We aim to broaden patient access
to innovative Radiomolecular Precision Oncology therapy worldwide and to further
develop the ICPO Academy for Theranostics in collaboration with top-tier
partners."
Dr. Mike Sathekge, CEO & President of NuMeRI, emphasized this commitment:
"Collaborating with the ICPO Foundation, our theranostics center is leading a
transformative shift toward precision oncology in South Africa. The research
infrastructure provided by NuMeRI extends support to healthcare research and
development, benefiting both academic and commercially driven healthcare
entities, including pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. As an ICPO
Collaboration Center, we benefit from the global community and exchange with
world-class experts within the foundation."
About ICPO Foundation
The International Centers for Precision Oncology Foundation (ICPO) is a non-
profit organization established in 2019 under German law by leading
international medical practitioners and life sciences entrepreneurs. Recognizing
a paradigm shift in cancer care from one size fits all to a personalized
approach, the ICPO Foundation is helping to build momentum to scale global
patient access to Radiomolecular Precision Oncology to support this shift.
Therefore, the ICPO Foundation aims to develop an international network of
physical diagnostic and therapeutic Centers for Precision Oncology organized in
a Social Franchise model based on shared know-how, certified education with the
ICPO Academy for Theranostics, and design and process standardization that
enables best clinical practice globally. Furthermore, it is the ICPO
Foundation's objective to empower its Centers by embedding them in a highly
inclusive Community that spearheads its model and lives up to the Precision
Oncology promise by making it available to all patients in need, irrespective of
country or social status.
Learn more about the ICPO Foundation at www.icpo.foundation
(http://www.icpo.foundation) and the ICPO Academy for Theranostics at
www.theranostics.academy (http://www.theranostics.academy)
Image caption:
ICPO Foundation signed the contract with Nuclear Medicine Research
Infrastructure (NuMeRI) to establish an ICPO Collaborating Center and expand
patient access to a new era of effective cancer therapeutics in South Africa:
Dr. Mike Sathekge, CEO & President of NuMeRI; Dr. Jan Rijn Zeevaart, General
Research Manager, NuMeRI; Martin Reuter, CFO ICPO Foundation; Odile Jaume, CEO
ICPO Foundation; Prof. Richard P. Baum, President of the ICPO Academy for
Theranostics (f.l.t.r.)
Media contact ICPO Foundation
Susanne Simon
Head of Communication & Community
Email: susanne.simon@icpo.foundation (mailto:susanne.simon@icpo.foundation)
Phone: + 49 172 8666093
www.icpo.foundation (http://www.icpo.foundation)
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