Cadre of radiopharmaceuticals experts pushes the bounds in cancer therapy Some researchers believe the pharma industry is being too cautious in the face of safety concerns

https://www.statnews.com/2026/08/31/radiopharmaceuticals-dosing-pushing-bounds-cancer-treatment/ By Allison DeAngelisAug. 31, 2026 Biotech Startups and Venture Capital Reporter Radiopharma researchers want bolder dosing Radiopharmaceuticals are powerful new tools in oncology. But are providers maximizing their potential? A small cadre of researchers believes that developers of these therapies may be sacrificing some efficacy by being overly cautious about dosing, STAT’s Allison DeAngelis writes. Among them is Louise Emmett, a leading nuclear medicine researcher in Australia, who is testing whether prostate cancer patients can safely receive radioactive drugs much more frequently than the six- or eight-week intervals typically used today — schedules partly inherited from decades-old external-beam radiation practices. “I'm interested in how we actually improve survival in our patients, not the toxicities,” Emmett said. Safety concerns with radiopharmaceuticals are real — and have led at least one company in the field to shut down recently. But early results suggest Emmitt’s approach can lower cancer markers without significant kidney or other healthy-tissue toxicity. Companies like Telix and AdvanCell are now exploring similarly aggressive dosing schedules.