"As a man approaching middle age, I have to say I listened to Beatrice Langton-Webster, CEO of Cancer Targeted Technology (CTT), with a little extra interest. CTT is developing a PET imaging agent that helps diagnose and monitor early and late-stage cancers; their first product, CTT-54, is aimed at prostate cancer. Incorporated in 2005, with initial patent filings, CTT became fully operational in 2009 when Dr. Langton-Webster took the helm, bringing 25 years of experience in pharmaceutical drug development and commercialization. I asked Bea to share some of the challenges facing early stage pharma companies and what is in store for the future of CTT.

With a little over 5 years of development, clinical trials and FDA approval , CTT has a lot of work ahead but in reality this timing is rapid for this type of diagnostic agent due in part to similarities with another product currently on the market. Bea stated "it is important for Pharmas and Biotechs to understand not only what makes their products better than their competitors, but also what the patient and physician really need and will use." Bea is excited about CTT-54 due to significant benefits it has over existing agents. According to Bea, "CTT-54 targets an important molecular marker in prostate cancer, and will have important advantages over the marketed imaging agent, Prostascint, and other agents in development, including the ability to specifically image abdominal and distal bone disease, the ability to collect better resolution images and the ability to image smaller tumor lesions. For the physician it is important that we develop an agent that has the capabilities to specifically detect minimal disease in multiple locations. For the patient, it is important that we develop a diagnostic with time and cost convenience. We will be able to provide CTT-54 images within a couple of hours with better overall diagnostic accuracy , no associated toxicity and at a cost that is lower than our competitors".

A critical challenge for CTT, at this stage, is understanding how physicians would use this new diagnostic agent. For example, CTT-54 would allow physicians to relatively quickly, easily and safely monitor metastatic disease and the effectiveness of cancer treatment in ways that are not practicable today; whether this new capability would be embraced by physicians and what physicians would need to support it are questions CTT would like to ask physicians.

Relatively speaking, CTT is on a fast track to commercialization but there is still a lot of work to be done, including clinical trials, FDA approval... and some more fund raising. Physicians will play a vital role in all aspects of this work, from product development to monotoring clinical trials and FDA advocacy. Physicians even play an important critical role in fund raising by supporting CTT's market validation claims with venture capital firms and potential strategic partners.

CTT is a paradigm example of the life sciences innovation coming out of iMedExchange's own back yard and we'll watch with interest as Bea shepherds the company through the next phases of the process."