Although several metal-based agents have been explored over the years, gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) have come to dominate the contrast-enhanced MRI (CE-MRI) market since their introduction in the late 1980s.1,2
Areas for innovation in MRI enhancement include metalbased and metal- free contrast media, as well as technological advances that could require no contrast agent at all.
1- Minton LE, Pandit R, Willoughby WR, Porter KK. The future of magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents. Appl Radiol. 2022:7-11.
Since their introduction in 1988, Gd-based contrast agents have been used in hundreds of millions of patients.1,2 But with the emergence of rare but potentially severe side effects, efforts have been undertaken to optimize patient safety.2,3 These are outlined here.
Gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) comprise a gadolinium ion (Gd3+) bound to an organic ligand to form a chelate. The structure of each chelate confers unique characteristics to that GBCA depending on whether it is linear or macrocyclic and ionic or non-ionic. The chelate structure actually impacts the size and stability of the complex, as well as its distribution and elimination.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) gadolinium based contrast agents (GBCAs) are characterized by their relaxivity which is a key feature to improve the contrast of MRI images. Relaxivity depends on several factors such as the molecular structure of the GBCA, its molecular size and the interactions of surrounding water protons with the Gadolinium ion included in the molecule.
Although the challenges of bringing a new pharmaceutical product to market are well known, what is sometimes surprising is that manufacturing pharmaceutical products at a commercial scale is not always the easy part.
Read the article to learn more on the challenges of drug manufacturing.
Although the challenges of bringing a new pharmaceutical product to market are well known, what is sometimes surprising is that manufacturing pharmaceutical products at a commercial scale is not always the easy part.
Sit down with Mohammed Ouchen, Industrial Project Manager at Guerbet, to hear a story of constant improvement in production processes.
Hear from Sarah Catoen, Global Discovery Director at Guerbet, about how Guerbet is helping to advance the state of the art.