Radionetics Oncology

Tumor cells have a puzzling feature that could be exploited as a weakness: they often express more G‑protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs — the largest family of cell surface signaling receptors) on their surfaces than normal cells. If researchers could design cargo-bearing small molecules that attach selectively to these over-expressed GPCRs, it could be a way to deliver radioiso­topes for diagnostic imaging and radio­therapy. And that’s exactly what Radionetics is doing: the company’s knowledge of GPCR biology and small-molecular medicinal chemistry allows it to discover and develop novel small-molecule radio­phar­ma­ceu­ti­cals that bind to the specific GPCRs over-expressed on cancer cells.