ROCHESTER — Soon, the radiopharmaceuticals used in cancer treatment at Mayo Clinic in Rochester could be made in Rochester, too.
After securing $720,000 in economic incentive funding from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, Nucleus RadioPharma announced today that it will create a 10,000-square-foot radiopharmaceutical manufacturing facility and office space in Two Discovery Square.
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"This really is a new type of therapy, and there hasn't been the infrastructure there to be able to support the science," said Nucleus CEO Charles Conroy. "That's what Nucleus is there to do now."
Nucleus, founded by Mayo Clinic and venture capital firm Eclipse, launched in October 2022 with $6 million in financing. Earlier this year, the city of Rochester helped Nucleus apply for some of its DEED funding.
The $5 million manufacturing facility, which is anticipated to be operational in mid-2024 and employ 40 people at full capacity, will develop and manufacture radiopharmaceuticals, drugs that contain radioactive isotopes. These drugs are used in cancer diagnosis and treatment, Conroy said.
"The idea is that energy is given off by the isotope directly at the cancer cell and really doesn't impact any of the living tissue around the cancer," Conroy said. "We have a group of radiochemists and biologists that are actually able to put these molecules together, specific to a certain type of cancer."
According to Mayo Clinic, the health care institution is the largest radiopharmaceutical treatment center on the planet.
The facility's presence in Two Discovery Square tackles two major issues with radiopharmaceuticals: supply and potency. Today, some components and medications are being delivered to Rochester from as far away as Australia, Conroy said.
"That's why we're so close to Mayo. We're only five blocks away," Conroy said. "We can deliver them over a very short period of time, because they are radioactive, to make sure that they have the proper potency and power when they're able to actually reach the patient."
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It also offers the opportunity for Mayo to participate in more clinical trials using these radiopharmaceuticals.
"It's truly an exciting time in health care, as we reimagine how we treat patients and develop the next generation of therapies," said Dr. Cheryl Willman, director of the Mayo Clinic Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Nucleus joins Two Discovery Square's one other tenant, National Resilience, another Mayo partner that develops medicinal biologics. The presence of another medical manufacturing facility is part of the reason why Nucleus is moving into that same building.
"We think we're a bit of an anchor tenant," Conroy. "We'll draw some other folks in with us, some of our partnerships that work in the research and development area, so we expect some other high-tech companies that are working specifically on the next wave of medicines."
Nucleus secured $500,000 from the Minnesota Job Creation Fund and $220,000 from the Minnesota Investment Fund.
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