Radiopharmaceutical firm Telix investing up to $171M to acquire portfolio of imaging agents
Radiopharmaceutical maker Telix has struck a deal worth up to $171 million (USD) to acquire a portfolio of imaging agents geared toward urological cancers.
The Melbourne, Australia-based company said the deal will allow Telix to expand its product pipeline with new assets targeting “fibroblast activation protein.” Telix noted that this is one of the “most promising” nuclear medicine drug candidates, addressing a diverse range of tumor types.
Under the deal, Telix will secure exclusive worldwide rights to a suite of diagnostic and therapeutic radiopharmaceutical candidates. The drugs in question were developed by noted nuclear chemist Dr. Frank Roesch and his colleagues at the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz in Germany.
“We are delighted to partner with Professor Roesch and his team on this exciting frontier of radiopharmaceuticals,” Richard Valeix, CEO of Telix Therapeutics, said in a Nov. 18 announcement. “Telix will gain access to assets that are already significantly de-risked, with clinically demonstrated safety profile and efficacy.
The exclusive worldwide licensing deal is with SCV GmbH, a German company controlled by Roesch, while the concurrently signed asset purchase agreement is with Medianezia GmbH (another Deutsch pharma firm). Under terms of the deal, Telix will pay nearly $7.4 million in cash at closing and another $3.2 million in the following year, subject to certain conditions. Telix will pay up to $139.3 million more based on achieving certain clinical development and regulatory milestones related to the products covered under the agreements. Finally, it could pay another $21.1 million under the licensing agreement if it hits certain commercial milestones with the relevant diagnostic imaging products, along with royalties on net sales.
Telix said the program will initially focus on bladder cancer, rounding out its portfolio of urological offerings, which also include therapeutic products targeting cancers of the kidneys and prostate. Closing of the deal is still subject to German government approval, among other conditions.
“We are excited to be working with Telix as a leader in radiopharmaceutical innovation, development and commercialization, to further develop and bring these drug candidates to regulatory approval,” Roesch said in the announcement. “The ultimate goal is to improve the diagnostic precision and therapeutic outcomes of cancer patients in need.”
The deal comes after Telix also recently started trading its company’s shares on the Nasdaq. As of late Wednesday, the stock was down about 5.5% over the past five days, at $15.27 per share.
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.