Nuclear Medicine Research Infrastructure (NuMeRI) Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Professor Mike Sathekge has lauded the Department of Science and Innovation (DSI) for its unwavering support that has enabled the entity to create opportunities to provide world-class modern care.
Nuclear medicine is a specialised field of imaging and therapy which uses small amounts of radioactivity in the form of radiopharmaceuticals to study various organ systems in the body and diagnose and treat disease.
A not-for-profit company, NuMeRI is a one-stop-shop medical imaging facility dedicated to drug development and clinical research. This core research network is embedded within the healthcare domain, which lends to a mutually beneficial environment for medical research and general practice – with public health being the common goal.
The research infrastructure is being rolled out in a phased approach, as the construction of the main NuMeRI site is underway, adjacent to the Nuclear Medicine Department at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Tshwane.
The completed infrastructure will be a distributed network comprising the main NuMeRI site, the NuMeRI Node for Infection Imaging at Tygerberg Hospital (managed by Stellenbosch University), a NuMeRI radiobiology facility at iThemba LABS in Cape Town. The NuMaCS facility will be equipped with state-of-the-art clinical imaging equipment, a cyclotron and a GMP facility for the production of radio-isotopes.
NuMeRI will be instrumental in capacitating the public healthcare sector with critical and scarce skilled medical professionals through the provision of key infrastructure that is unique to their field(s).
Stressing the key role played by DSI, Prof Sathekge says: “One of the barriers of impactful research output is a lack of ownership of contextual cancer research and innovative financing. The DSI has enabled us to be at forefront of targeted radiopharmaceutical therapies and contribute underdressing the burden of disease in South Africa.
“NuMeRI is part of the DSI’s South African Research Infrastructure Roadmap (SARIR), and to this effect we would not exist if it was for the vision of the DSI. Hence, they provide funding for our research infrastructure based on collaboration between engineering, business, social science and health. They also provide network opportunities.”
As CEO of the entity, Prof Sathekge’s many responsibilities include setting and executing the NuMeRI’s strategy, developing human capital through education and training as well as overseeing the production of cutting-edge research.
He describes witnessing the birth of NuMeRI as one of his greatest joys in professional life, in addition to giving patients access to technology and quality health care.
“NuMeRI will use advanced technologies to facilitate ground-breaking research, promote collaboration, and drive innovation to improve patient care, inform improved teaching and learning practices and outcomes,” adds Prof Sathekge.
He is upbeat about the impact the facility has had already: “We have published remarkable responses with upfront treatment with 225Ac-PSMA targeted alpha therapy on unique cohorts – first in chemotherapy-naïve men, second in a post-androgen deprivation therapy setting and now recently in de novo metastatic hormone-sensitive prostate carcinoma.
He adds that the country can look forward to more targeted alpha therapies in breast cancer, lung cancer and cervical cancer as well as specific infection imaging tracers.
A proponent of contextual relevant research to improve access, affordability and outcomes in both communicable and non-communicable diseases, Prof Sathekge believes that it is critical to reduce the burden of patients presenting with advanced-stage disease.
Prof Sathekge is also the head of the Nuclear Medicine department at the University of Pretoria and Steve Biko Academic Hospital. In June 2023 the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging, the leading international nuclear medicine congress, bestowed him its prestigious Presidential Distinguished Award in recognition of his exceptional contributions to the field of nuclear medicine, cutting-edge research in theragnostics, and his unwavering dedication to providing quality patient care.
