Telix and Siemens Healthineers partner to advance oncologic therapies
Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited announced Wednesday it will be partnering with Siemens Healthineers’ Varian to advance oncologic treatment options.
Telix specializes in developing theranostic radiopharmaceuticals, while Varian researches and develops several cancer treatments, including external beam radiation therapy. The duo’s collaboration will initially explore how PSMA-PET imaging with Telix’s FDA-approved agents, Illuccix and Gozellix (both use gallium Ga 68 gozetotide), can be combined with Varian’s therapy capabilities to personalize patient treatment and monitor efficacy.
Illuccix and Gozellix are both PSMA-PET imaging agents used for detecting prostate cancer and identifying metastases and recurrence. The only difference between the two is their shelf life—Gozellix has an extended shelf life of up to six hours, while Illuccix lasts about four hours. The extra time afforded by Gozellix expands patient access by improving the logistical flexibility when distributing the agent.
In clinical trials, both agents were well tolerated, resulting in minimal adverse side effects. The most commonly reported reactions were nausea, diarrhea and dizziness, which occurred in less than 1% of patients.
Leaders from both companies are optimistic about how their partnership can improve precision medicine and palliative therapies.
"Collaborating with Telix opens a powerful pathway to embed precision imaging and theranostics into the radiation therapy workflow, advancing how we personalize and optimize treatment decisions,” Arthur Kaindl, PhD, head of Varian, noted in a news release. “By combining Telix’s strength in molecular imaging and radiopharmaceuticals with Varian’s leadership in radiation therapy and treatment planning, we are shaping a future of more targeted, patient-focused cancer care."
“Integrating theranostics into [external beam radiation therapy] has the potential to improve patient outcomes. And by combining Telix’s innovation in molecular imaging with Varian’s global leadership in cancer treatment technologies, we are building alliances to explore new frontiers in personalized cancer care,” Christian Behrenbruch, PhD, group CEO and managing director of Telix, added.
The partnership will initially focus on prostate cancer imaging but will eventually extend to additional PET agents that target other cancers.
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.