New GE HealthCare partnership expands access to prostate cancer imaging agent
GE HealthCare’s latest collaboration is set to expand the use of a common prostate cancer imaging agent globally.
The healthcare giant announced on Wednesday an exclusive licensing agreement for GE HealthCare to develop, manufacture and commercialize Lantheus’ piflufolastat F18 (brand name Pylarify in the U.S. market) in Japan. The imaging agent, which is used to detect metastatic or recurrent prostate cancer, was approved by the U.S. Food Drug Administration in May of 2021. Since then, it has become a go-to imaging agent for providers tasked with diagnosing and managing prostate cancer. It was later approved for use in the United Kingdom in the spring of 2024.
The agreement stipulates that Lantheus will transfer regulatory dossiers, manufacturing competencies and technical support to GE HealthCare while the company works to kick-start the agent’s development in Japan. The move follows GE’s March acquisition of Japanese radiopharmaceutical company of Nihon Medi-Physics Co. (NMP).
GE HealthCare will pay Lantheus an upfront licensing fee, in addition to tiered royalties based on product sales. The duo also will establish a joint steering committee to lead development and commercialization.
Representatives for both companies expressed optimism around how the licensing agreement can improve access to the agent.
“Bringing targeted PET imaging agents to new geographies supports Lantheus’ Purpose to Find, Fight and Follow disease to deliver better patient outcomes,” Jean-Claude Provost, chief science officer at Lantheus, said in the announcement on the agreement. “By aligning with GE HealthCare, we’re addressing a critical clinical need in Japan and helping to lay the foundation for a more personalized approach to prostate cancer detection, diagnosis and monitoring.”
“Working alongside Lantheus gives us access to one of the best-in-class PET imaging agents that is already approved in the U.S. and in Europe, and if approved locally, could provide clinicians and their patients with a powerful new option for detecting and monitoring prostate cancer,” President & CEO of the Pharmaceutical Diagnostics (PDx) segment of GE HealthCare and President of NMP, Kevin O’Neill, added.
In addition to her background in journalism, Hannah also has patient-facing experience in clinical settings, having spent more than 12 years working as a registered rad tech. She began covering the medical imaging industry for Innovate Healthcare in 2021.