Telix Pharmaceuticals’ expansion phase shows no sign of running out yet, with the Australian radiopharma company paying $45 million in upfront cash and equity for a pipeline of preclinical cancer antibodies and a Californian research facility.
The therapies and facility belong to U.S.-based radiopharma ImaginAb, which, along with the $10 million cash payment and $35 million equity investment, could be in line for $185 million in potential milestone payments from Telix. At the center of the deal are various early-stage drugs aimed at “high-value targets” like delta-like protein 3 (DLL3) and integrin αvβ6 “as well as several other novel targets in discovery stage,” Telix explained in a Jan. 13 release.
Telix had at one point last year been lining up a $200 million Nasdaq IPO but had second thoughts at the last minute. Instead, the company has channeled its energies into fleshing out its radiopharma capabilities, including the $13.6 million acquisition of Texas-based CDMO IsoTherapeutics, the $82 million purchase of ARTMS and its cyclotron-based isotope production platform and the acquisition of RLS Radiopharmacies to secure access to RLS’ network of 31 radiopharmacies across the U.S.
The Australian company said today’s acquisition was a good synergistic fit for its existing portfolio. ImaginAb’s use of “small engineered antibody formats that enable highly specific cancer targeting, combined with fast tumor uptake and blood clearance … has the potential to be highly effective for imaging and treating tumors with a broad range of radioisotopes, with alpha emitters of particular interest,” Telix explained in a release.
Along with the drugs, Telix will also take over ImaginAb’s Californian research facility and its staff.
“Together, these assets will provide Telix with further in-house capabilities in antibody engineering and preclinical development, as well as a novel biologics platform to create the next generation of Telix precision medicine and therapeutic products, beyond the current clinical-stage pipeline,” the company said.
“The combination of a proprietary drug discovery platform, pipeline of promising theranostic assets and a talented team of subject matter experts will enhance Telix’s research and innovation capability now and into the future,” Telix CEO Richard Valeix said in the release. “This acquisition will enable Telix to explore new disease areas with state-of-the-art radiotherapeutic technology.”