Aviko Radiopharmaceuticals

Aviko Radiopharmaceuticals is a privately held biotechnology company established in 2021 to advance Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (BNCT), a targeted radiation treatment for various cancers. The company was founded by Deerfield Management, an investment firm focused on healthcare, and operates from the Cure innovation campus in New York City. Aviko's leadership team is drawn from Deerfield and possesses extensive experience in drug development and company building. The Chief Executive Officer, David Greenwald, Ph.D., also serves as the Vice President of Business Development at Deerfield.

The company’s core business revolves around developing a pipeline of proprietary boron-based medicines. These drugs are engineered to selectively accumulate in cancer cells while being rapidly cleared from healthy tissue. The business model focuses on creating the therapies that are a critical component of the two-part BNCT process. BNCT is a biochemically-targeted radiotherapy where a patient receives a non-toxic boron-10 infused drug. Subsequently, the tumor area is irradiated with low-energy neutrons, which are captured by the boron. This interaction causes a nuclear reaction that releases alpha particles and lithium-7 ions, which have a short range of destruction, theoretically limiting the damage to only the boron-containing cancer cells and sparing adjacent healthy tissue.

Aviko operates within the oncology and radiopharmaceuticals market, aiming to address the high unmet clinical need for more precise cancer treatments. While BNCT is an approved treatment in Japan for certain head and neck cancers, there are currently no BNCT treatment centers in the United States. A significant part of Aviko's strategy involves forming strategic partnerships to build a complete BNCT ecosystem in the U.S. The company collaborates with medical device manufacturers, academic medical centers, and healthcare providers. Key partnerships include a 2023 alliance with Neutron Therapeutics, a provider of accelerator-based neutron systems, and Leo Cancer Care, which is developing upright patient positioning systems for radiation therapy. These collaborations aim to establish the first BNCT treatment centers in the U.S. and combine Aviko's drug development with the necessary delivery technology and patient positioning systems to improve treatment efficacy and patient experience.

Keywords: Boron Neutron Capture Therapy, BNCT, radiopharmaceuticals, oncology, targeted cancer therapy, Deerfield Management, boron medicines, neutron therapy, precision oncology, cancer treatment, drug development, radiation therapy, accelerator-based neutron systems, head and neck cancer, clinical trials, healthcare ecosystem, Cure innovation campus, biopharmaceutical, alpha particles, targeted radiotherapy.