Martina Benešová-Schäfer: Pioneering Radiopharmaceuticals for Targeted Cancer Therapy

"Imagine causing billions of nuclear explosions per second in the body—cells get distressed and die," says Martina Benešová-Schäfer, succinctly describing the radiopharmaceutical she helped develop during her doctoral studies in Heidelberg. This innovation involves a ligand combined with radioactive lutetium-177 that precisely binds to the prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA). This allows tumors to be accurately targeted and irradiated, destroying only affected cells while minimizing serious side effects.

Martina studied nuclear chemistry at the Faculty of Science, Charles University. For her doctorate, she moved to Heidelberg, working at both the university and the German Cancer Research Center. There, she joined a small team that developed the radiopharmaceutical [177Lu]PSMA-617. Commercially known as Pluvicto, the drug was approved by the U.S. FDA in 2022, followed by the European EMA. Today, it benefits patients worldwide.