The START Center for Cancer Research, its preclinical division XenoSTART, and Minerva Imaging have announced a significant expansion of their decade-long partnership to create the most comprehensive, integrated platform for radiopharmaceutical drug development in the oncology sector.

This collaboration is strategically positioned to address the urgent need for robust translational platforms in radiopharmaceuticals, one of the fastest-growing areas in oncology, which focuses on precisely targeting tumors while sparing healthy tissue.

The unified platform brings together XenoSTART's uniquely differentiated and clinically annotated Patient-Derived Xenograft (PDX) models, derived from the START global network, with Minerva Imaging's extensive expertise as a fully integrated CRO and CDMO specializing in radiopharmaceuticals. Minerva Imaging contributes its advanced molecular imaging modalities (PET/CT, SPECT/CT, MRI), sophisticated in-vivo models, radionuclide therapy expertise, and GMP-certified manufacturing infrastructure. The combined capabilities offer sponsors a single-source solution spanning discovery, translational research, and manufacturing, designed to deliver a "gold standard" in translational oncology. According to the partners, this integration promises to accelerate the development timeline, reduce risk, and provide more predictable outcomes for life-changing therapies, particularly for cancers like prostate cancer, where radiopharmaceuticals are already revolutionizing care. By creating a powerful translational bridge from "bench to bedside," the partnership aims to move promising therapies forward with unprecedented speed and confidence, ensuring that drug candidates accurately reflect real-world patient populations, treatment histories, and resistance patterns.