ROBOLAB project selected by the 25th call for projects by France’s FUI inter-ministerial fund
EVEON is a partner of ROBOLAB project, selected by the 25th call for projects by the FUI inter-ministerial fund. Carried by PMB, a subsidiary of the ALCEN group, CEA’s imaging centre, SHFJ, is also taking part in the project.
The ROBOLAB project concerns the design and implementation of an innovative robotic environment to prepare injectable radiopharmaceuticals for PET nuclear imaging1. The purpose of the project is the automated production of injectable doses of radiopharmaceuticals in single-dose, ready-to-use syringes for PET imaging centres (clinics, hospitals and biomedical research centres). This unique system offers an alternative to the conventional radiopharmaceutical production process, enabling unprecedented proximity with the patient and imaging centres for same-day diagnosis with multiple radiopharmaceuticals and a resulting decrease in personnel requirements. iMiGiNE is a highly innovative solution that offers imaging centres access to a range of radiopharmaceuticals at a lower cost. The ROBOLAB project thus aims to broaden the treatment offer and allow personalized medical care to be deployed throughout the territory.
ROBOLAB is one of five healthcare projects selected by the French government for the 25th call for projects by the FUI inter-ministerial fund (from a total of 1,000 project proposals and 145 certified projects). One of the main selection criteria was demonstration of the innovative character of the project and the level of economic activity generated. ROBOLAB will broaden the spectrum of molecular imaging centres to include a wide range of radiolabelled molecules.
EVEON develops and supplies the automated systems operated by the robot at the heart of the system to enable radiochemical synthesis without human intervention. Process automation minimises exposure of personnel to radiation and guarantees the pharmaceutical quality, safety, reliability and reproducibility of the preparation. This comprehensive intra-hospital production platform also facilitates access to precision medicine, offering a personalized approach to treatment as close as possible to the patients and a more pertinent diagnosis. Both medical personnel and patients will thus benefit from the advantages offered by this innovative platform in terms of safety, access to treatment and personalized medicine.
With its automated synthesis systems, EVEON implements its expertise and skills in mechatronics and fluidics for the benefit of nuclear medicine, radiopharmacy and new therapies. “We are delighted with this new step towards fully automated production of injectable PET radiopharmaceuticals with ROBOLAB. Project synergy boosts our expertise and our position in the innovative medical device sector and reflects our vision of personalized medicine. Our development perspectives in this segment are on an international scale”, said Vincent Tempelaere, CEO of EVEON.
This promising project for the medical sector is certified by the regional Eurobiomed competitiveness cluster (Occitanie and PACA regions, France) and co-certified by the Minalogic centre (Rhône-Alpes region, France). For this 36-month, €4.8M project, the partners will receive financial grants from the state and local authorities totalling €1.8M.
1 Positon Emission Tomography (PET) is a medical imaging technique that measures biological or metabolic functions in 3 dimensions and possibly dynamically. It enables the detection of tumours and physiological, neurological and metabolic malfunctions. It is one of the only techniques that enables visualisation, characterisation and measurement of a biological process on the scale of the molecule or cell. PET is used to detect cancerous cells and offers a high level of success in the detection and location of tumours.
