Radiotracers in Drug Discovery and Development

Dear Colleagues,

Significant advances in the design and evaluation of novel radiopharmaceuticals in preclinical and clinical environments have enabled the wider adoption of imaging technologies such as SPECT and PET for oncological, cardiological, and neurological applications. Numerous radiopharmaceuticals have become available commercially for various applications, and more are going through development and the regulatory approval process. These radiopharmaceuticals are critical to the diagnosis and staging of diseases as well as to the selection of patients for various therapies and the monitoring of their outcomes.

Radiotracers play a crucial role in the drug discovery and development environments that advance preclinical and clinical studies and lead to commercialization. For example, radiotracers are used for target identification and optimization, specific/non-specific receptor binding, in vitro/in vivo stability, biodistribution, pharmacokinetics, and ADME (adsorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion) studies in animal models in a preclinical environment. Molecular imaging using radiotracers provides accurate information related to the effective dose and dosing interval determination, drug efficacy, the therapeutic responses of a drug candidate, the binding of a drug candidate with biological targets, the evaluation of the therapeutic effects of drugs, drug–receptor interactions, brain penetration and metabolism, pharmacokinetics, and the mechanisms of drug action, resistance, and endpoint determination. Imaging modalities with radiotracers also visualize and measure the rates of various physiological processes at the molecular level in vivo; these include glucose metabolism, neurotransmitters, uptake, blood flow, etc., in various oncological, cardiovascular, and neurological conditions.

The Editorial Team of Molecules is developing a Special Issue entitled “Radiotracers and Drug Discovery and Development”. This Special Issue will focus on all aspects of the design, characterization, evaluation, and development of novel radiotracers for drug development.

Both original research papers and reviews related to the areas mentioned above are welcome.

Dr. Krishan Kumar
Guest Editor

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• radiotracers
• drug discovery
• drug development
• biomarkers
• end point
• therapeutic effect
• drug efficacy