An agreement signed this month is poised to broaden the scope and application of fluorescence-labeled poly ADP-ribose polymerase (PARP) inhibitors in cancer detection and diagnostics. Summit Biomedical Imaging (SBI), a clinical stage developer of diagnostic medical imaging products, reached a global license agreement for intellectual property with medical imaging and biotechnology company Theragnostics. The agreement contributes to SBI’s global freedom to operate in the diagnostic field of certain fluorescence-labeled PARP inhibitors, as the company focuses on developing oral cancer detection applications bringing new diagnostic solutions to market.

PARP is a class of enzyme involved in the normal cellular processes. Cancerous and tumor cells experience an overregulation in PARP activity and expression. PARPi-FL, an inhibitor developed by SBI, works by binding to enzymes to block this activity and expression. Using a fluorescence tag, the inhibitor targets the overexpressing cancer, enabling an optical imaging agent to directly detect tumors with a focus on maximizing the sensitivity and selectivity of the process.

SBI is aiming to establish earlier and new fluorescence-based, in vivo diagnostic solutions for cancers in the oral cavity. Medical professionals currently make more than 45,000 diagnoses of oral cancer each year.

“Leveraging SBI’s expertise in oncological diagnostics applications is an important step forward in implementing our strategy of bringing novel diagnostic agents and new targeted therapies to cancer patients,” company Chief Operating Officer Gareth Smith said.

Theragnostics, developers of molecular therapy for radiotherapy treating a broad range of cancers, previously partnered with GE Healthcare Systems on the development and sale of a prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) PET/CT imaging agent.