Medicinal Chemists Don’t Just Make Drugs – the Art of Developing Low Molecular Weight Imaging Agents in Switzerland

Radiolabeled molecular imaging agents are useful to study drug distribution, target engagement and disease progression in human patients. Medicinal chemists often develop them in parallel to drug discovery programs, to facilitate clinical development or to better understand physiological and pathological processes. While the properties required for imaging agents differ from those of drug candidates, their optimization follows similar principles. Developing them for clinical use also requires a multidisciplinary approach, and is best conducted in a close partnership between pharmaceutical and academic research centers. This article reviews recent scientific advances towards the identification and development of low molecular weight imaging agents in Switzerland