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Bringing contrasts to life
Josy Breuer can remember exactly when her passion for imaging began. She first became familiar with this diagnostics field back in 1989 while she was working on her doctorate. Her interest in the field continued to grow when she went to Mannheim University Hospital, part of Heidelberg University Hospital, from 1992 to 1997 to complete her specialist training as a neurologist.
“We as neurologists were able to independently examine our patients with a number of imaging techniques, from magnetic resonance imaging via computed tomography to angiography. It was a huge opportunity for me.” It was also the beginning of a life-long commitment. Since then, medical imaging has remained an important part of Josy Breuer’s life. She is now the Senior Director of Global Clinical Development Diagnostic Imaging at Bayer Schering Pharma.
Today she can look back on 20 years of experience in this field. For more than ten years, her area of expertise has been contrast agents, which are the substances used in diagnostic imaging to increase the contrast of structures in the body so that they show up more clearly in the images produced.
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| Bayer Schering Pharma set a milestone in the development of contrast agents with the first contrast agent for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). |
Regardless of whether MRI, CT, angiography or conventional X-ray techniques are being used, it’s the contrast agents that enable these diagnostic technologies to deliver high quality images. It’s no wonder that they are now used in more than a third of all MRI and CT examinations. These contrast agents frequently come from Bayer Schering Pharma, the world market leader in this field.
For patients, the use of contrast agents in diagnostic procedures can extend or even save lives. After all, good images make it possible for doctors to reach a more precise diagnosis. However, it’s a long road before it gets that far, as Josy Breuer is well aware. The time from discovery of a substance until the finished contrast agent is launched on the market generally takes more than ten years, she says. One particularly time-intensive element are the clinical trials – mandatory studies which are set by regulatory authorities and are designed to confirm the safety, tolerability and efficiency of a new substance, among other aspects.
Clinical trials have to comply with the most rigorous scientific standards. Experts say they must have the right design. Josy Breuer makes sure of this. Her job is to design studies so that they meet the varying requirements specified by the regulatory authorities in the United States, Europe or Japan. For example, a highly complex assignment that requires a great deal of knowledge and expertise in the area.
It can also be extremely gratifying: one particularly successful experience in the recent past was the registration of a highly specific contrast agent that makes damage to the liver caused by tumor cells visible to doctors. It also makes it possible to locate tumors and categorize them as benign or malign. The studies that preceded the approval lasted around eight years, and Josy Breuer played a crucial role in their design.
It’s a career filled with variety and excitement. “Every study is different, they are never the same. That by itself makes my daily work exciting. On top of that, I work together with colleagues in the most varied of functions and countries – and of course there’s also the culturally interesting contact to the regulatory authorities in the various parts of the world.”
The fundamental challenge is that contrast agents depend on the tools used to create images of the inside of the human body. They are developed in parallel to the technology, which is quickly progressing. In order to keep up, contact with the users and system manufacturers must be constantly maintained. “There’s never a let-up for us,” says Breuer.
Take Positron Emission Tomography (PET) for example, to Josy Breuer, this represents one of the greatest challenges in diagnostic imaging. This nuclear medicine technology is used to produce images of biochemical and physiological processes in the body. To this end, the distribution of a weak radiolabeled substance in the organism is made visible. This is an exciting new area in which Josy Breuer’s colleagues are already heavily involved. Because of this, there will definitely be many exciting breakthroughs in the future.
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