“It could offer a new way to observe biological processes that occur very early in the disease, even before severe symptoms appear.“he explained to The Observer the general director of Cudim, Alarico Rodríguez.
The relevance of the advance goes beyond the laboratory. If the results are consistent, it could open a new door to better understand how the disease develops and improve chances of early diagnosis.
The most difficult step: getting to human testing
Until now, the radiopharmaceutical had shown promising results in cellular studies, laboratory research and animal models. The approval obtained allows you to enter a decisive stage: clinical evaluation in people.
In the first instance, they will participate healthy volunteerswhich will allow us to determine how the tracer behaves under normal conditions. Later, patients with mild cognitive impairment and people going through different stages of Alzheimer’s will be incorporated.
“The main objective is to confirm the security of the substance and knowing how it is distributed in the body,” Rodríguez explained.
Researchers are seeking to answer fundamental questions before moving on to broader applications: whether the compound is safe, how it circulates through the body, and whether it can actually identify changes associated with brain inflammation.
For those unfamiliar with nuclear medicine, the concept may sound complex. “A radiopharmaceutical is a medication or tracer that contains a small amount of radioactive material“Rodríguez summarized.
In this case, the compound was designed to bind to astrocytesbrain cells that actively participate in the inflammatory processes associated with neurodegenerative diseases.
Once administered, The radiopharmaceutical emits positrons that are detected by the PET cameras and transformed into images capable of showing biological phenomena invisible to other diagnostic techniques.
The researchers’ expectation is to confirm in humans what they already observed in the preclinical phase: that the tracer can identify inflammatory processes associated with these cells and provide relevant information on the evolution of the disease.
A project that took years of scientific work
The authorization obtained in 2026 is the result of a much longer path. The radiopharmaceutical was born as part of a doctoral thesis developed in Cudim by the researcher Ingrid Kreimerman.
Then came years of laboratory research, studies in cell cultures, testing in animal models of Alzheimer’s, toxicological analyses, dosimetry studies and multiple safety evaluations. Projects financed by the National Research and Innovation Agency (ANII)which allowed us to confirm that the compound has a specific uptake in astrocytes.
All this scientific evidence was the basis that allowed us to request and obtain approval to begin clinical evaluation in humans.
Rodríguez recognizes that these processes are usually long. “It is not easy to establish general times. These are usually extensive processes“, he noted. In addition to scientific research, factors such as financing, regulatory approvals and the incorporation of volunteers under extremely rigorous criteria intervene.
For Rodríguez, science only makes sense if it manages to answer specific problems in society. “For research to become innovation, has to improve people’s quality of life“he stated.
As he explained, each project must pass three filters: be technically feasiblerespond to a real need of the population and have the possibility of becoming a accessible and sustainable solution over time.
The process begins by analyzing epidemiological data, public health indicators and needs detected by patients and professionals. “To check whether a perceived need constitutes a real, unmet health need, three dimensions must be analyzed.“, he maintained. Among them he mentioned the existence of a problem that affects the health or well-being of people, that there is a demand for assistance and that the available solutions are insufficient or non-existent.
The other 40 projects that seek to change medicine
The study of Alzheimer’s is just one part of a much broader scientific structure. Cudim is currently developing more than 40 research projects linked to neurosciences, neurodegenerative diseases, nuclear medicine, molecular imaging, radiopharmaceuticals, infections, inflammatory processes and preclinical research.
Among the areas with the greatest growth potential, Rodríguez highlights theragnosis, a strategy that combines diagnosis and personalized treatment of cancer.
“Allows you to integrate cancer diagnosis and treatment in a personalized waygenerating a significant impact on the advancement of precision medicine and the improvement of patients’ quality of life“he explained.
Some of this research has ceased to be projects and has become concrete tools used in patients. One of the clearest examples is the teragnosis applied to neuroendocrine tumors and advanced or metastatic prostate cancer.
The procedure combines two complementary stages. First, a radiopharmaceutical is administered that identifies and localizes tumor cells using PET-CT studies. and then, using that same information, Another radiopharmaceutical is applied that carries radiation directly to the cancer cells to destroy them.
Today these treatments are used by both Uruguayan patients and people from abroad who come to the country to access this technology.
Behind these developments there is an unusual infrastructure for the region. Cudim has PET/MRI cameras, SPECT/CT equipment, specialized biomedical laboratories and a highly complex vivarium that allow advanced preclinical research to be carried out.
According to Rodríguez, this platform has no equivalent in Latin America and allows us to accelerate the transition from scientific discoveries to concrete applications for patients.
“The passage of scientific knowledge towards concrete applications with potential impact on the diagnosis and treatment of diseases“he explained.
From the laboratory to everyday life
For Rodríguez, scientific research often seems distant to the population, although its results end up being part of daily life. “Many of these developments are already generating concrete benefits, especially in the early and accurate diagnosis of diseases.“he stated.
Detecting a disease earlier, better understanding its evolution or accurately identifying a tumor are advances that can radically modify a person’s prognosis. “Detecting a disease in a timely manner and with greater precision allows us to define more appropriate treatments, improve prognosis and, in many cases, significantly increase people’s quality of life“, held.
As an example of the impact that scientific research can have on people’s lives, Rodríguez recalls what he considers the most transformative development in modern history.
“In my opinion, the scientific research with the greatest impact on people’s daily lives was the invention of antibiotics“he stated.
New Alzheimer’s study still has a long way to go. But for the researchers working behind it, it represents more than just a scientific experiment: the possibility that Uruguay contributes to changing the way in which one of the most devastating diseases of the 21st century is detected and understood.
