Every year 160,000 people die from cancer in France. To offer therapeutic alternatives, Orano Med will devote 250 million euros to commission a thorium-228 production unit, the first step in massively producing lead-212-based drugs. “This is the first facility in the world dedicated to the production of thorium-228 for targeted radiotherapy applications, indicates Claude Imauven, chairman of the board of directors of Orano. This project constitutes a major step in Orano Med’s provision of innovative treatments in the fight against cancer. »
Towards better cancer treatment
Produce 100,000 doses per year
The origins of this project date back to the early 2000s with the objective of valorizing raw materials from the mining activities of Orano (formerly Cogema) between the 1950s and 1990s. From the 2000s, lead-212 appeared as a solution in nuclear medicine and for alphatherapy, which allows cancer cells to be recognized and destroyed selectively, limiting the impact on healthy cells. Before moving on to the industrial phase, engineers from the Maurice Tubiana pilot laboratory, located near the new production site called Atef (Advanced Thorium Extraction Facility), have been developing for ten years a process for producing thorium-228 and radium-228 from which the doses of lead-212 necessary for targeting cancer cells will be extracted.
Targeted lead-212 alphatherapy has long been slowed down by the difficulty of producing it in industrial quantities. This brake will be lifted thanks to the Atef which will industrialize this production process. Within ten years, this factory will produce 100,000 doses of medicine per year. “We are convinced that vectorized internal radiotherapies will become essential in the short term in the fight against cancer,” considers Arnaud Lesegretain, general manager of Orano Med. “The Orano group has a unique and abundant stock of raw materials to produce lead-212 and cover global needs. »
Orano Med valued at 1.9 billion euros
Work on the Atef, a 7,000 m2 building, began in September with commissioning scheduled for 2027. The results of the first clinical trial on humans for Alphamedix, its most advanced drug candidate, are promising. . Phase 2 is underway to evaluate the effectiveness in treating neuroendocrine tumors. Global marketing has been entrusted to Sanofi. The pharmaceutical group also acquired a 15.6% stake in Orano Med with an investment of 300 million euros, thereby valuing Orano Med's activities at 1.9 billion euros, the highest valuation highest achieved by a French biotech.
This project was also the France 2030 winner of the “Industrialization and health capacities 2030” call for projects with a State contribution of 22 million, the highest in the category. “The laying of the first stone of Atef is a great day for French industry”underlines Marc Ferraci, Minister Delegate for Industry in his speech broadcast to the guests. « This will make it possible to control national sovereignty in this area and this is one of our priorities, thanks to this new generation of medicines and to limit our dependence on Russia. » Especially since a 25% increase in cancer cases is expected by 2035. The opening of this production unit will be accompanied by 70 direct job creations and 100 indirect jobs.
Cancer: research accelerates, but innovative treatments stagnate
