Improving Access to Nuclear Medicine: An Interview with SNMMI President Jean-Luc C. Urbain, MD, PhD

For Jean-Luc C. Urbain, M.D., Ph.D., the new president of the Society for Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI), matching infrastructure and supply of radiopharmaceuticals to meet increasing demand remains a particularly daunting challenge.

In a recent interview at the SNMMI conference, Dr. Urbain discussed a recently expanded FDA approval for a radiopharmaceutical compound, which can now be utilized as a first-line modality for patients with metastatic prostate cancer. The expanded approval may result in up to a sixfold increased need for dosing of the radiopharmaceutical in comparison to a 2024 estimate, according to Dr. Urbain.

“The supply chain of radiopharmaceuticasls and the infrastructure needed to administer these radiopharmaceuticals are (key) challenges we are facing,” noted Dr. Urbain.

While Dr. Urbain noted that the United States has been dependent on Canada and other countries for medical isotopes, he said SNMMI has been “working very actively” with Congress to facilitate solutions and eventually develop “autonomous” supply chains for medical isotopes in the U.S.

Dr. Urbain also emphasized a goal close to his heart is expanding access to nuclear medicine for underserved communities. He said it has recently been estimated that 100 million people in the U.S. live in medically underserved communities.

(Editor’s note: For additional coverage of the SNMMI conference, click here.)

“We have mobile technology. We have mobile PET/CT. We have mobile SPECT/CT units that we can dispatch to those communities. The advantage of dispatching mobile units is that patients don’t have to travel far,” maintained Dr. Urbain.

Dr. Urbain added that artificial intelligence (AI) may aid in facilitating strategies to optimize the delivery and use of radiopharmaceuticals in these communities.

(Editor’s note: For related content, see “Assessing a Landmark Change in CMS Reimbursement for Diagnostic Radiopharmaceuticals,” “SNNMI: Preliminary Research Suggests Dual-Targeting Radiopharmaceutical May Have Impact in Multiple Cancers” and “Expanded FDA Approval Allows Use of Pluvicto Prior to Chemotherapy in Patients with mCRPC.”)

For more insights from Dr. Urbain, watch the video below.