Starget Pharma Appoints Oncology Experts Oliver Sartor And Michael Hofman To Scientific Advisory Board

Starget Pharma Inc., a U.S.-based clinical-stage radiopharmaceutical company, has strengthened its scientific leadership with the appointment of Oliver Sartor, MD, and Professor Michael Hofman, MBBS, FRACP, FAANMS, to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). The appointments come as the company advances multiple radioligand therapy programmes towards clinical development using its AI-powered drug discovery platform.

Dr. Sartor and Professor Hofman are internationally recognised experts in oncology and radiopharmaceutical medicine. With decades of experience in scientific research, clinical development, and cancer treatment, both have played key roles in establishing radioligand therapy as an emerging and promising approach for treating various types of cancer. Their expertise is expected to support Starget Pharma's efforts to develop next-generation radioligand therapies with improved precision and effectiveness.

Commenting on the appointments, Sigal Kalmanson Cusnir, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Starget Pharma, said the company is honoured to welcome both experts to its Scientific Advisory Board. She noted that their extensive experience in advancing radioligand therapies from research into clinical practice will help shape the company's development strategy as it continues to expand its pipeline of innovative radioligand candidates.

Dr. Sartor said Starget's platform combines artificial intelligence with advanced peptide engineering to design radioligands that have the potential to improve tumour targeting and pharmacological performance. He added that he looks forward to working with the team to expand the use of radioligand therapies across a broader range of cancer types and treatment targets. Professor Hofman also highlighted the advantages of radiotheranostics, explaining that imaging enables researchers to understand where a radioligand travels in the body before treatment. He believes that combining imaging insights with AI-driven optimisation could accelerate the development of more effective radiopharmaceuticals.

Dr. Sartor is widely recognised as one of the world's leading experts in prostate cancer and radiopharmaceutical therapies. He currently serves as Director of the Transformational Prostate Cancer Research Center at East Jefferson General Hospital Cancer Center and previously led radiopharmaceutical clinical trials at Mayo Clinic. Throughout his career, he has been involved in several landmark clinical studies that contributed to the approval of important cancer therapies, including Xofigo® (radium-223), Pluvicto® (¹⁷⁷Lu-PSMA-617), Jevtana® (cabazitaxel), and Quadramet® (samarium-153). He has also authored more than 600 peer-reviewed scientific publications.

Professor Michael Hofman is a globally recognised nuclear medicine physician and physician-scientist known for his pioneering work in molecular imaging and theranostics. Based at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre and the University of Melbourne, he has led several landmark clinical trials, including proPSMA, TheraP, UpFrontPSMA, and PRIMARY2, which have helped establish PSMA imaging and radioligand therapy as standard approaches for prostate cancer care. 

His research focuses on radiopharmaceutical discovery, clinical translation, and imaging biomarkers, with findings published in leading medical journals, including “The Lancet”. Together, the appointments of Dr. Sartor and Professor Hofman are expected to strengthen Starget Pharma's scientific expertise as the company continues developing innovative AI-driven radiopharmaceutical therapies for cancer patients.