As an imposing new competitor begins to take shape, radiopharma leader Novartis has beefed up its pipeline by licensing a preclinical radioligand therapy from a specialist Chinese biotech.
BoomRay Therapeutics, based in the eastern city of Suzhou, can receive as much as $900 million from the Swiss drug giant, including an upfront payment as well as potential royalties and milestones tied to development, regulatory progress and sales.
"Radioligand therapies represent an important frontier in oncology, and at Novartis, we remain focused on driving breakthrough science that can expand their potential for patients," Shiva Malek, Ph.D., Novartis’ global head of oncology biomedical research, said in a release. "Our agreement with BoomRay complements our growing radioligand therapy portfolio and reflects our strategy of combining external innovation with our cutting-edge research and development capabilities.”
Details of the licensed program were not disclosed. BoomRay’s pipeline is led by a brain tumor diagnostic containing fluorine-18 as well as theranostics for solid tumors that target fibroblast activation protein and Nectin-4.
“This agreement marks a significant milestone for BoomRay and is a strong validation of our discovery and development capabilities,” BoomRay CEO Bo Shan, Ph.D., said in the release.
The pickup comes not long after Novartis ditched a midstage radioligand asset due to disappointing data. At the time of that July decision, Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan told Fierce that the company’s commitment to the modality “remains completely unchanged.”
Novartis dominates the radioligand market with Pluvicto and Lutathera, used to treat prostate cancer and neuroendocrine tumors respectively. But the field’s competitive landscape shifted dramatically yesterday when Australian radiopharma Telix Pharmaceuticals announced it was acquiring ITM Isotope Technologies, the supplier of the lutetium-177 isotope used in Pluvicto.
Telix paid $1.65 billion upfront primarily to secure ITM’s lead radioligand candidate ITM-11, which was recently rejected by the FDA on manufacturing grounds. The drug was submitted for approval to treat gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors, making it a direct rival to Lutathera.
ITM plans to refile with the FDA, and solidifying a path to approval is a key condition for the Telix buyout to close. Analysts celebrated the merger, with William Blair experts noting the combined company could become a “global radiopharmaceutical powerhouse.”