News

IASON GmbH announce the Austrian market release of the potentially life-saving pharmaceutical IASOflu®

Graz - Seiersberg, 25th May 2011 - IASON Company announce that the pharmaceutical IASOflu® [18F] sodium fluoride, which is applied in positron-emission-tomography (PET), is now available in Austria.

During the last months the Austrian Marketing Authorization for IASOflu^® was successfully completed. Now IASON are happy to be able to deliver the pharmaceutical also to national hospitals and university clinics. The live-saving fluoride is produced at the production plants in Linz and Klagenfurt.

What is IASOflu^® and when is it applied?

IASOflu^® is a pharmaceutical for the positron-emission-tomography (PET) and is administered in the preparation phase of an examination. The radioactive substance of IASOflu^® is registered by PET and visually depicted. The nuclear pharmaceutical IASOflu^® is indicated for functional imaging methods for the examination of unusual changes in osteogenic activity. The revolutionary fluoride delivers exacter results and supports the work of the doctors through its finer detailed imaging. In this way, metastases can be recognized earlier and they can be distinguished more easily from ordinary attritions. Live-saving measurements can be initialized earlier. Stable fluoride (F-19) was already presented as sodium fluoride in 1962 and was registered in 1972 by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). IASON Company, producer of IASOflu^®, is the first company world-wide that has obtained Marketing Authorization for the application of ¹⁸F-NaF.

Areas of Application

Due to the administration of IASOflu^®, bone metastases can be detected more easily in adults and back pain of dubious origin can be diagnosed more quickly. This is not possible with conventional imaging methods. Of particular interest is also the use of IASOflu^® for the diagnosis of bone lesions when child abuse is suspected. It is especially in this sensitive medical area that the demand for such diagnosis methods is expected to increase.

„With the market launch of IASOflu^® the best possible examination for the detection and localization of bone metastases with proven primary tumour is at the patients’ disposal.“, states Christoph Artner, Managing Director of IASON GmbH. „We are particularly proud that this pharmaceutical for positron-emission-tomography can also be used as an aid for the diagnosis of back pain of dubious origin”.

„The application of IASOflu^® is also highly relevant in the context of the identification of bone lesions when child abuse is suspected" Artner adds. „I hope that our scientific work will help improve the life of many people and especially of children“, adds Krisztina Fedák, Managing Director of IASON.

With the Marketing Authorization of IASOflu^® IASON continue their strategy of the last years to provide highly specific pharmaceuticals for the diagnostic application in nuclear medicine. The market launch of IASOflu^® coincides time-wise with the completion of a further Marketing Authorization for the pharmaceutical IASOcholine^®. IASOcholine^®, a pharmaceutical which is applied for the detection of prostate carcinoma and hepatocellular carcinoma, will be available for Austrian patients within a few months. By the end of the year IASON will submit application for Marketing Authorization for another new product (diagnosis of brain tumours).  Currently the R&D team work on twelve new innovative pharmaceuticals.

„With the market launch of IASOflu^®  in Austria a further milestone was reached. We are happy that IASON, with our tireless team of researchers, can contribute to the diagnosis and the recovery of patients“, explains Fedák.

In France, Poland, Slovakia and in Germany IASOflu^® is already successfully applied. In the countries Bulgaria, Hungary, Luxemburg and Slovenia the Mutual Recognition Procedure was successfully completed and the national Marketing Authorizations are expected within the next weeks.

Advantages of the fluoride:

• faster out of the blood than other substances
• the radiation dose is much lower than with conventional methods
• shorter examination duration: the examination is possible already after 30 – 45 minutes (with normal tracers: 2-4 hours)
• due to the short half-life, very little or no effect on renal functions
• improved image intensity between observed target area and the background signal
• stronger contrast in the image – no blurry details
• In general a better display of details
• Early detection of metastases and prostate is better than with CT examination