IBA launches Neptis Perform Duo, a synthesizer for developing and producing PET tracers

A single module for testing and routine production

A radiopharmaceutical synthesizer combines a radio-isotope with chemical compounds to produce a medicine intended for diagnostic imaging or therapeutic use. The development of a new positron emission tomography (PET) imaging agent, called a tracer, requires numerous tests. On most synthesizers, each test requires a new single-use kit, which leads producers developing their own tracers to generally resort to two separate systems.

NEPTIS Perform Duo combines these two stages. For development, the system uses reusable components which, during internal testing, were able to be used more than 30 times, thereby reducing consumable costs according to the company. For production, it operates with the same single-use cassettes and the same chemical processes as NEPTIS Perform, particularly for fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG), presented as the most widely used PET tracer.

According to IBA, the use of a single platform allows teams to transfer the process developed directly into production through a single qualification pathway.

NEPTIS range expanded following ORA acquisition in December 2025

This module is the first new product launched by ORA since its acquisition by IBA in December 2025. It is aimed at radiopharmaceutical manufacturing subcontractors, commercial producers and radiopharmacy networks. It complements NEPTIS Perform and NEPTIS xSeed within the NEPTIS range.

Loïk-Maël Nys, president of IBA RadioPharma Solutions, stated: "Our customers are increasingly developing the tracers they will then produce at larger scale and wish to conduct these two activities on a single platform." He added that the module should enable "taking a new compound from initial testing through to routine production".

ORA claims 20 years of experience in radiochemistry, with NEPTIS synthesizers installed at more than 600 sites across more than 50 countries. Combined with IBA's four decades of experience in cyclotrons (the equipment that produces medical isotopes), this activity should enable producers to rely on a single supplier, from isotope production through to the radiopharmaceutical ready for administration.