The development of the Positron Diagnostic Center for hundreds of millions of forints in the lives of people diagnosed with prostate cancer can bring a breakthrough; The tracer material developed by the innovative Hungarian healthcare company shows the metastases in patients more accurately than any previous method – Szabolcs Szakáll, a nuclear medicine specialist and medical director of the Positron Diagnostics Center, told MTI.
The company won more than HUF 385 million in funding for the project leading to the development, including the research and production of PSMA-specific tracers (radiopharmaceuticals), in the tender of the Research and Technological Innovation Fund operated by the National Office for Research, Development and Innovation. The total cost of the project, which closes in February 2023, is HUF 770 million and the own resources are HUF 385 million, so the aid intensity is 50 percent, with an expected return of 7-8 years.
The medical director said he is producing a special tracer developed by the company in the center’s own laboratory, with its own particle accelerator. Through health development, it was the first in Hungary in the region to open up the possibility of using a high-precision PSMA-specific tracer in the examination of prostate cancer patients.
In the first year after the introduction of the special procedure, Pozitron-Diagnosztika Kft. Undertook to carry out a few hundred (PSMA tests), 250 of which have already been successfully completed. Thousands of examinations are planned in the coming years, so in the 7-8 years after the project closes, the investment can only pay off from this one source, while thousands of people will be helped by a more accurate diagnosis, emphasized András Kókay, managing director of the Positron Diagnostics Center.
Szabolcs Szakáll drew attention to the fact that according to statistics, prostate cancer is the second most frequently diagnosed cancer in men in Hungary, which is the fifth leading cause of death, typical of aging European societies in general. 5-6,000 new prostate cancers are diagnosed each year, but one-third of those who undergo radical surgery relapse after surgery or radiation therapy due to undetected metastases. The primary goal of PSMA PET / CT scans is to detect and detect such recurrences.
A patient can be referred for a state-paid PSMA PET / CT scan by an oncologist based on an individual fairness permit. The study is also available with private funding, on the recommendation of a specialist.
Pozitron-Diagnosztika Kft. Was founded in 2004 as a project company of Hungarian owners to perform research and examinations with world-class technology of oncology diagnostic PET / CT and cardiology. The company has been carrying out research and development activities since 2004, and in addition to medical services, it also produces isotopes used in diagnostics, which are produced in the particle accelerator (cyclotron) of their own radiochemical plant. Some of the tracers produced are used by the company for its own PET / CT scans and some are sold to other providers.
According to preliminary figures, Pozitron’s net sales revenue exceeded HUF 1.7 billion last year, a slight decrease compared to the previous year. Operating profit decreased to HUF 257 million from 430 million in 2019, and the pre-tax profit was similar.
The Positron Diagnostic Center produces more than 17,000 patient-dose radiopharmaceuticals per year. Of this, 6,000 patients are examined in-house per year and 11,000 doses are prepared for other PET / CT centers, of which 5,500 are exported.
MTI
Picture: Szigetváry Zsolt
