Eclipse and Mayo Clinic Create Nucleus RadioPharma to Better Serve Cancer Patients

 Nucleus is developing technologies to usher in a new era in radiopharmaceutical development, supply chain, and manufacturing

ROCHESTER, Minn., and PALO ALTO, Calif., Oct. 12, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Eclipse, a venture capital firm investing in the digital transformation of the world's physical industries, and Mayo Clinic, a leading nonprofit health organization, today announced the creation and seed funding of Nucleus RadioPharma, a new company built to ensure cancer patients can access potentially life-saving radiopharmaceuticals by developing technologies to modernize the clinical development, manufacturing, and supply chain of these promising new therapies.

Charles S. Conroy, one of the world's top experts in radiopharmaceuticals, is heading the effort as CEO. He most recently served as the CEO of ARTMS Inc., a leading provider of technologies for radiopharmaceutical production. The founding Board of Directors is comprised of Manu Nair, Chair of Corporate Development at Mayo Clinic; Justin Butler, Partner at Eclipse; Mary Kate Wold, Chief Executive Officer and President of the Church Pension Group and a former senior executive at Wyeth; Ned Sharpless, M.D., former Director of the National Cancer Institute and former Acting Commissioner of the FDA; and Mike Rossi, former head of radioligand therapy and imaging at Novartis. 

"Radiopharmaceuticals are proving to be highly effective treatment tools across a variety of cancer types, but the inefficiencies across the development, manufacturing, and supply chain have inhibited their widespread utilization. As the field of theranostics evolves, it will be imperative that we can develop and deliver these life-changing agents effectively to all patients who may benefit from their use," Conroy said.

Eclipse and Mayo Clinic collaborated to build Nucleus RadioPharma, beginning with $6 million in seed funding, to bring these treatments to the market at a cost, scale, and efficacy that will impact millions of lives. The organization draws on Eclipse's experience creating companies with advanced manufacturing technologies, as well as the deep oncology expertise of Mayo Clinic, one of the largest nuclear medicine practices in the world.

"Mayo Clinic is on a mission to transform our cancer care practice by integrating research with clinical care to ensure that every patient we serve, across the U.S. and the world, has access to state-of-the-art cancer clinical trials and the newest treatments. We believe that radiopharmaceuticals are highly innovative new therapies with tremendous potential to help cancer patients," said Cheryl Willman, M.D., Executive Director of Mayo Clinic Cancer Programs. "The collaboration with Nucleus RadioPharma will provide enhanced manufacturing capabilities so Mayo Clinic can rapidly deliver radiopharmaceuticals, empowering us to better serve our patients today, and enabling the development and clinical testing of novel targeted radiotherapies in the future." 

Radiopharmaceuticals are poised to become a core modality of cancer diagnosis, staging and treatment, but their success has been broadly hampered by manufacturing and supply chain issues. The treatments are expensive and have short-lived radioactivity, which means they must be produced daily, often in small batches, and sometimes even individually for each patient. However, after a patient is approved to receive a radiotherapy, current supply chain limitations mean that some patients must wait more than a month for the treatment to be manufactured and delivered to the hospital.

"New therapeutic modalities, such as radiopharmaceuticals require new infrastructure to unlock their full potential," said Justin Butler, Partner at Eclipse. "Together with Mayo Clinic, we are leveraging our combined expertise in clinical development, manufacturing, and supply chain to evolve and enhance the radiopharmaceutical industry, allowing drug developers to access larger markets more quickly."

"We are building Nucleus RadioPharma to be the glue that connects hospitals with radiopharmaceutical developers, providing new hope for our cancer patients," said Geoff Johnson, M.D., Ph.D., Chair of Nuclear Medicine at Mayo Clinic. "We are particularly excited to fast track the next generation of therapies, which promise to be far more powerful and precise at killing cancer, but are even more challenging to produce and integrate into trials and clinical practice."

With over $2.7 billion in assets under management, 70-plus portfolio companies, and a team of investors with deep operating expertise in technology, manufacturing, supply chain, logistics, healthcare and consumer products, Eclipse is a leading U.S. venture capital firm. Its leadership team has the experience necessary to create and scale complex operations. Eclipse partners with exceptional companies that make physical industries more efficient, resilient, and profitable. For more information, visit www.eclipse.vc.

Mayo Clinic is a nonprofit organization committed to innovation in clinical practice, education and research, and providing compassion, expertise and answers to everyone who needs healing. Visit the Mayo Clinic News Network for additional Mayo Clinic news.

Designated as a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute, Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center is defining new boundaries in possibility, focusing on patient-centered care, developing novel treatments, training future generations of cancer experts, and bringing cancer research to communities. At Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center, a culture of innovation and collaboration is driving research breakthroughs that are changing approaches to cancer prevention, screening and treatment, and improving the lives of cancer survivors. Visit the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center Blog for news, information and stories from Mayo Clinic's cancer experts and patients.

Media Contacts
Consort Partners for Nucleus RadioPharma, [email protected]
Kelley Luckstein, Mayo Clinic Communications, [email protected]

SOURCE Nucleus RadioPharma