Emilia-Romagna hosts the SECURE project meeting

Clust-ER Health, together with its member Istituto Romagnolo per lo Studio dei Tumori Dino Amadori – IRST, co-organised the sixth plenary meeting of the European project SECURE, which took place in the Emilia-Romagna region on 13 and 14 March.

The first day, hosted at the Fabbrica delle Candele in Forlì, was characterised by technical workshops and presentations of the four work packages relating to the scientific actions of the consortium. These covered source materials and targets for production of new high potential radionuclides (Work Package 1), adequate and reliable production routes for therapeutic and diagnoostic radionucludiedes selected under WP1 (WP2), efforts to overcome the production challenges related to W-188 (WP3), and recommendations for clinical applications and radiation protection (WP4). The partners responsible for the tasks still in progress gave a detailed presentation of the current status of activities, outlining potential challenges and the next steps to be taken in the coming months to ensure that results are achieved and deliverables are submitted on time. In fact, the project will end in September this year.

The working day ended with a discussion on the publication strategy to ensure that the results of the SECURE initiative reach the right audience as much as possible, as well as to plan the intensive writing activities that await us at the end of the project, with several documents already in preparation.

After the intense first day, the international partners enjoyed a guided tour of the San Domenico Museum, which offered a glimpse of Italy’s cultural richness.

The second day was hosted in Meldola at the IRST premises, the only hospital that is partner of the SECURE project. The first session focused on updates on dissemination, communication, and exploitation activities to maximise the impact of the project (WP5). The consortium partners shared their ideas and plans to effectively disseminate the results to the scientific and regulatory communities. The consortium is also coordinating promotional efforts among the partners to ensure maximum visibility, and a presentation event in Brussels in May is being prepared. The agenda also covered more general aspects of project management (WP6) to ensure that operations and reporting run smoothly until the end of the project.

The second part was a unique opportunity to discover the work of IRST doctors, clinicians and researchers through two guided tours. Half of the participants were able to visit the new oncology radiopharmacy for the preparation of radiopharmaceuticals according to GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) standards and used in nuclear medicine, including in clinical trials. It is a facility where high technology, automation and computerisation find a place of synthesis unparalleled in the Italian hospital scene. The new pole, entirely dedicated to the production of oncological preparations and experimental radiopharmaceuticals for the whole of Romagna, includes 4 floors and 500 square metres dedicated to laboratories and workshops, and involves 50 professionals including pharmacists and technicians employed to achieve 100,000 oncological preparations a year and the same number of ancillary products thanks to 2 production lines in the AIFA-authorised Radiopharmaceutical Workshop (the first in Italy) for the production of lutetium-based experimental radiopharmaceuticals.

The other participants were able to see the research laboratories and the Complex Structure Nuclear Medicine, consisting of Nuclear Medicine Diagnostics and Nuclear Medicine Therapy.

For more information on the SECURE project, visit the official website.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Atomic Energy Community (EC-Euratom). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.