Lantheus completes acquisition of radiopharma firm Evergreen Theragnostics for up to $1B
Drugmaker Lantheus has completed its acquisition of radiopharmaceutical firm Evergreen Theragnostics in a deal valued at up to $1 billion.
The North Billerica, Massachusetts-based buyer announced the deal’s closing on Tuesday after scoring the necessary regulatory approvals. Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Springfield, New Jersey, Evergreen develops and manufactures imaging agents for diagnosing and treating cancer. Its portfolio includes Octevy, a yet-to-be-approved PET (positron emission tomography) product targeting neuroendocrine tumors.
Lantheus believes the imaging agent will complement its therapeutic PNT2003—a generic version of Lutathera for treating such cancers—and solidify its status as a “fully integrated radiopharmaceutical company.”
“By acquiring Evergreen Theragnostics, we are enhancing Lantheus’ capabilities across the entire radiopharmaceutical value chain, from development to manufacturing to commercialization,” CEO Brian Markison said in a statement April 1. “With Evergreen’s scalable manufacturing infrastructure and expertise—as well as its promising pipeline of oncology-focused assets, including Octevy—we are better positioned than ever to meet the complex demands of the market.”
Under terms of the deal first announced in January, Lantheus paid $250 million in cash at the recent closing. It will issue up to $752.5 million more for hitting certain sales and developmental milestones tied to Octevy and Evergreen’s other drug candidates.
Lantheus touted the addition of Evergreen’s established infrastructure, including its “revenue generating” contract development and manufacturing organization. Adding in-house radiopharma development expertise allows Lantheus to supply its own clinical trials, scale manufacturing and commercial launches, and “mitigate third-party risk.” Former Siemens Healthineers engineer and VP of PETNET Global Business development James Cook, MBA, founded Evergreen alongside Memorial Sloan Kettering radiopharmacist Serge Lyashchenko, PharmD.
Lantheus is one of the largest radiopharmaceutical-makers in the world, with its flagship product Pylarify—a targeted PET imaging agent for prostate cancer—recording sales of over $1 billion in 2024.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.