Stephen C. Dragotakes, RPh, NPh, BCNP, FAPhA
Stephen C. Dragotakes, RPh, BCNP, FAPhA is a PET Specialist and Operations Manager for the Dana Farber
Cancer Institute, Molecular Cancer Imaging Facility, a PET radiopharmaceutical research and development
facility located in the Seaport District of Boston.
Mr. Dragotakes has been a practicing nuclear pharmacist since 1979. His nuclear pharmacy career has included
practice in commercial nuclear pharmacy, clinical nuclear pharmacy, and PET nuclear pharmacy. Mr. Dragotakes
obtained his Bachelor of Science Pharmacy degree at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy in Boston in 1979.
He obtained his radiopharmacy training via a bionucleonics certificate training program during his
undergraduate work at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy.
His initial practice in nuclear pharmacy was at the Pharmaco-Nuclear commercial Nuclear Pharmacy in
Cleveland, OH. His experience in clinical nuclear pharmacy was as a nuclear pharmacist in the Division of
Nuclear Medicine of the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. As part of his clinical nuclear pharmacy
practice, Mr. Dragotakes provided radiopharmaceutical preparation and handling training for the MGH Nuclear
Medicine Resident Physician training program. Appointed as adjunct faculty at the Massachusetts College of
Pharmacy, he provided radiopharmaceutical training for Nuclear Pharmacist and Nuclear Medicine
Technologists. During a 30-year career at MGH, Mr. Dragotakes was an integral and active member in
radiopharmaceutical research where his expertise was in translation; the development and formulation of
research compounds as radiopharmaceuticals for human use. His career at MGH paralleled the exponential
growth of PET with his early involvement with the MGH Cyclotron group, creation of the MGH PET Nuclear
Pharmacy and the establishment of the MGH PET GMP production facility as managing director. In addition to
radiopharmaceuticals, Mr. Dragotakes was involved in development of optical imaging agents and the
establishment of an aseptic fill finish lyophilization facility at the Translational Cancer Imaging Facility
of the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. His expertise in aseptic processing, sterile
compounding, and development of radiopharmaceuticals has been applied in his activities as a consultant to a
variety of radio pharmacy manufacturing organizations.
Mr. Dragotakes has been active participant and contributor in the advancement of the science of
radiopharmaceuticals as a long-standing member of the Society of Nuclear Medicine Molecular Imaging, Nuclear
Pharmacy Section within the American Pharmacists Association and the Board of Pharmaceutical Specialties. He
served as chair of the BPS Nuclear Pharmacy Specialty Council in 2002, chair of the APHA Nuclear Pharmacy
Section in 2005, and as a member of the SNMMI Radiopharmaceuticals Board of Directors in 2007. He was active
in the early evolution of the sterile radiopharmaceutical compounding guidelines as an appointed expert
member to the Radiopharmaceuticals in General Chapter <797> Ad hoc Advisory Panel to Expert Committee on
Sterile Compounding United States Pharmacopeia in 2007. Since 2007, Mr. Dragotakes has been active in
the development of radiopharmaceutical compounding and PET drug manufacturing regulation serving on
multiple SNMMI committees including the Committee on Compounding, Clinical Trial Network Committee, and
the Committee on Radiopharmaceuticals where he currently serves as chair of COR, being appointed in
2022.
His work in radiopharmaceutical development and the advancement of nuclear pharmacy practice has been
recognized with many awards; 1992 Mass College of Pharmacy Adjunct Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award,
2007 Fellow of American Pharmacist Association, 2023 SNMMI Presidential Distinguished Service Award, and the
2024 SNMMI Radiopharmaceutical Sciences Council Sally Schwarz Award for outstanding contributions to the
field of radiopharmacy. Mr. Dragotakes’ current focus is in theranostic radiopharmaceutical research and
development at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute Molecular Cancer Imaging Facility located in Boston. He
currently resides in Medfield, MA, with his wife Donna M Dragotakes.