28 April 2025
A game-changing project backed by Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia has received an $18 million boost from Australia’s Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF).
The landmark MRFF Frontiers Initiative grant, which was awarded to AdvanCell, will bring together a multidisciplinary multi-institutional investigator team to accelerate the development of alpha therapies for advanced prostate cancer, including PCFA Fellowship winner, Dr Kevin Koo.
Dr Koo hailed the MRFF grant a significant milestone for prostate cancer research in Australia.
“Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia’s support for the grant application, and for my Fellowship as part of the project, has been instrumental in securing this outcome.
“Targeted alpha therapies are among the most promising new wave of nuclear medicine treatments for men with prostate cancer.
“The project team, with PCFA’s backing, believe this MRFF-funded research can transform standards of care, extending and saving lives, and fast-tracking the translation of research into practice.”
The grant will also help to accelerate the development of novel combination therapies through industry and academic partnerships.
“Alpha therapies use highly targeted radiopharmaceuticals to eradicate prostate cancer cells that have spread around the body, minimising damage to surrounding tissues and cells,” Dr Koo said.
“They rely on attaching alpha-emitting isotopes to molecules, like antibodies or peptides, that can specifically bind to cancer cells.
“These molecules act as laser-guided missiles, delivering the radioactive substance directly to the tumour, which can kill it.”
Dr Anna Karmann MD PhD, AdvanCell Chief Medical Officer, said the grant would be transformative.
“We believe this MRFF-funded research can be practice changing and have a lasting positive impact on the lives of patients with prostate cancer,” Dr Karmann said.
“We highly value the support and opportunity this funding provides to fast-track translation and accelerate the development of novel combination therapies in an industry-academic partnership.”
Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia CEO Anne Savage welcomed the news.
“We congratulate the project proponents, AdvanCell, and PCFA Fellow Dr Kevin Koo for this grant win,” Ms Savage said.
“Our great hope is that this project will downgrade prostate cancer from a lethal to a chronic disease, preventing the need for outdated therapies which negatively impact quality of life through the use of Targeted Alpha Therapy.
“TAT is a revolutionary cancer treatment where small molecule radioligands selectively deliver a lethal dose of radiation directly to cancer cells.
“With this support from Australia’s Medical Research Future Fund, Australia can now move towards the establishment of a sovereign manufacturing network to accelerate the translation of these therapies to patients in the clinic, through the development of a novel alpha isotope manufacturing platform.
“One of the goals of the project is to prevent the need for use of hormone therapy in men with very early-stage metastatic prostate cancer, by using new TAT combination therapies, in a medical advancement that could save the Australian health system nearly $600 million in prostate cancer-related costs under the Pharmaceutical Benefit Scheme each year.
“We note with respect the outstanding credentials of the clinical investigators on the project – including Professors Louise Emmett and Shahneen Sandhu, who have significantly contributed to bringing new therapies and hope to patients with prostate cancer in Australia.”
Prostate cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in Australia, with an estimated 26.368 new diagnoses each year and nearly 4,000 men likely to die from the disease.
Notably, Australia has one of the highest rates of prostate cancer in the world, with one in every five Australian men likely to be diagnosed by age 85.
By 2040 forecasts predict there will be 372,000 men living with or beyond prostate cancer in Australia, representing a 49% increase from 250,000 today and the greatest number of men or women diagnosed with any single cancer.
For more information on Alpha Therapies, please visit www.prostate.org.au or call 1800 22 00 99 to speak with a PCFA Prostate Cancer Specialist Nurse.
