A gallium-68-labeled peptide radiotracer for cd38-targeted imaging in multiple myeloma with pet.

Multiple myeloma is a challenging bone marrow plasma cell disease that is associated with heterogenous responses and universal recurrence. While minimal residual disease monitoring by blood and invasive bone marrow samples have improved prognostication of disease recurrence, molecularly targeted non-invasive imaging options remain limited. Additionally, there is an unmet need for functional imaging agents to monitor the effects of new therapeutics targeting CD38 protein, which is highly expressed on MM cells. To address this gap, we report the development of a high affinity first-in-class gallium-68 labeled peptide radiotracer for CD38, [ Ga]Ga-AJ206. [ Ga]Ga-AJ206 provides high-contrast images by PET within the standard clinical workflow of 60 minutes. Furthermore, we have demonstrated the potential of [ Ga]Ga-AJ206 PET to measure varying levels of CD38 expression. Further development of this new radiotracer may complement existing technologies and improve prognostication and monitoring of therapy response in MM patients.