– Norgine B.V. today announced the launch of LYMPHOSEEKR (Tc 99m tilmanocept) in Finland and Sweden. LYMPHOSEEKR is a radiopharmaceutical used for diagnostic purposes by nuclear medicine specialists and surgeons. It is specifically designed for a procedure called sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) and represents a significant alternative to the current method of identifying sentinel lymph nodes in adult patients with breast cancer, melanoma, or localised squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity.
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LYMPHOSEEKR has been specifically designed to target, bind to and be retained in sentinel lymph nodes, the first lymph node (or group of nodes) to which cancer cells are most likely to spread from a primary tumour. LYMPHOSEEKR has a false negative rate of 2.6% in T1-T4cN0 oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). It detected sentinel lymph nodes in 99% of patients with Tis, Tx or T1-T4cN0 breast cancer and in 97% of patients with T1-T4cN0 melanoma.
LYMPHOSEEKR offers particular value in identifying lymphatic drainage from tumours in the floor of the mouth (underneath the tongue) which can prove especially difficult. Currently up to 70-80% of patients with early oral cancer receive elective neck dissection surgery, a major procedure which could be avoided by using sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) for staging.
Peter Martin, COO at Norgine commented: “By making LYMPHOSEEKR available to patients through our infrastructure in partnership with surgeons, radiopharmacists, and nuclear medicine specialists, we continue to demonstrate our commitment to improving patients’ quality of life with access to new innovative specialist diagnostic tools and treatments. Norgine wants all eligible patients suffering from oral cancer, breast cancer or melanoma to have their cancers accurately staged using sentinel lymph node biopsy with LYMPHOSEEKR. This will result in a reduction in unnecessary surgical interventions that can optimise use of healthcare resources and improve patients’ outcomes.”
He added: “LYMPHOSEEKR is already available through Norgine in the Netherlands, UK, Italy and Denmark. We are anticipating further launches through our Norgine infrastructure in 2018.”
Norgine in-licensed LYMPHOSEEKR from Navidea Biopharmaceuticals Inc for the commercialisation and distribution in Europe and certain other key markets.
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