PharmaShots Interview: Clario’s Joyce Suhy Shares Insights on PET Imaging Clinical Trials

In an interview with PharmaShots, Joyce Suhy, Senior Vice President, Medical Imaging at Clario shares her views on the PET imaging clinical trials & expands its 2018 collaboration with XingImaging for Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative diseases

Shots:

Clario & XingImaging have expanded the collaboration to provide PET imaging clinical trials for neurodegenerative therapeutics in China. The initial study used Amyvid (florbetapir) PET imaging to support AD clinical trials requiring PET for eligibility & disease progression
The collaboration will use the joint resources & neuroscience experts of Clario & XingImaging to accelerate the startup of clinical trials & drug discovery in China including amyloid, tau & other targets
In 2018, Clario, formerly ERT and Bioclinica collaborated with XingImaging to support multi-center clinical trials requiring PET for eligibility and drug efficacy evaluation

Tuba: Tell us in more detail about your partnership with XingImaging?

Joyce Suhy: Clario, formerly ERT and Bioclinica, and XingImaging first announced our partnership in 2018. The initial study under the new partnership used Florbetapir (Amyvid®) Positron Emission Tomography (PET) Imaging to support multi-center Alzheimer's disease (AD) clinical trials requiring PET for eligibility and disease progression. Since then, Clario and XingImaging have worked collaboratively to support numerous PET Tracer studies in China and are now expanding our partnership.

With the expansion of our partnership, we are now able to contract and provide PET tracer coordination services, including amyloid PET, throughout China. A dedicated team of neuroscience experts from Clario is working hand-in-hand with the local XingImaging team in China, enabling on-site communication with other trial leaders across the globe.

Tuba: Discuss about the PET Imaging Clinical Trials in China?

Joyce Suhy: Clario and XingImaging have worked on several large Alzheimer’s Disease clinical trials with amyloid PET endpoints and will continue expanding our collaboration in other areas as well.

Tuba: Discuss how this partnership will be beneficial for the PET Imaging Clinical Trials?

Joyce Suhy: It can be difficult to conduct studies in China without having a group located in China. Our PET Tracer partnership with XingImaging offers a solution for introducing trials in new regions, specifically expanding our reach to researchers in China. This partnership also lifts the contracting responsibility from our clients, expediting the startup of the clinical trials in China.

Most importantly, the expanded partnership benefits patients suffering from neurodegenerative diseases. Patients in China can now participate in clinical trials testing groundbreaking treatments and therapies — an opportunity that was previously limited. Ultimately, our work and partnership are driven by our purpose of helping our collaborators transform lives.

Tuba: Tell us about the startup of clinical trials and drug discovery in China?

Joyce Suhy: This newly expanded partnership helps to expedite the startup of clinical trials and drug discovery in China by leveraging the joint resources and neuroscience experts of Clario and XingImaging. Generally, it can take up to 6 months to transition from site identification to completion of a trial startup — when researchers are ready and able to enroll patients in the study. The startup process is often quite costly and can be delayed for numerous reasons including changes to the design of the study, restrictive criteria, and contract negotiations. Under Clario’s partnership with XingImaging, the contracting process in China is made simpler, faster, and more efficient.

Tuba: How PET Imaging has supported your study for the trial?

Joyce Suhy: An investigational PET Tracer is a positron-emitting radiopharmaceutical used in positron emission tomography (PET). The scanning device can detect subatomic particles emitted in the organ or tissue being examined, giving us a closer look into brain pathology and ultimately a diagnosis of brain disease. This allows us to identify the origin of the disease with greater accuracy, establish a subject’s candidacy for clinical trial participation and monitor treatment effects once enrolled.

Tuba: Are you planning for new clinical trials for neurodegenerative diseases?

Joyce Suhy: At Clario, we have managed the MRI and PET endpoints for over 380 clinical trials in Neuroscience and plan to continue expanding our research in this field. Our world-class Neuroscience team continues to be the market leader in providing comprehensive medical imaging services for clinical trials in the brain and spinal cord for neurodegenerative diseases.

Tuba: Do you have any future plans for other clinical trials in partnership with XingImaging?

Joyce Suhy: We intend to conduct many future PET Tracer studies with XingImaging and continue to invest in clinical trials in China. Our local efforts are also augmented by the expansion of our Shanghai office, which provides local staff in all operational positions including Nuclear Medicine Technologists, Clinical Project Management, Clinical Data Management, Sites Services, and other support staff. We are confident that our continued efforts to provide PET Tracer services in China will ultimately lead to improved neurodegenerative drug discovery in this area.

Tuba: Are you planning for clinical trials with XingImaging in other geographical regions as well? Mention if any.

Joyce Suhy: We look forward to growing our partnership with XingImaging in China. In addition, Clario continues to explore opportunities to expand PET in other areas.

Source: Canva

About Author:

Joyce Suhy is the Senior Vice President of Medical Imaging at Clario. Dr. Suhy has led the design and scientific oversight of Neuroscience clinical trials since 2001 and participated in several expert panels to advance the use of imaging in clinical trials. She received her Bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Northwestern University, and her doctorate in biochemistry from Loyola University Chicago. She completed her Post-Doctoral Research Fellowship in the Department of Radiology at the University of California at San Francisco.