Telix’s new lead-212 generator might dispel medical isotope scalability hurdles

There have lately been high-profile monetary offers for lead-212-based drug candidates. Picture credit score: Shutterstock / Love Worker.

Australia-based radiopharmaceutical firm Telix Prescription drugs has created a brand new radionuclide generator that would facilitate the business provide of lead-212 isotope-based therapies.

The corporate mentioned it has developed and validated the expertise, in addition to accomplished the primary manufacturing of the radioactive isotope.

Shares within the firm, listed on the Australian Securities Trade (ASX), opened 1.3% greater following the announcement that was made earlier than buying and selling commenced. Telix has a market cap of $5.66bn.

Lead-212 is a promising radioactive isotope to be used in focused alpha remedy, an alternate modality to beta-particle-based therapies that has proven efficacy in treating sure forms of most cancers. The alpha-emitting isotope will be produced via the decay of thorium-228 in a generator. Turbines are a sort of nuclear battery that produces daughter radionuclides via the lack of power by a guardian radionuclide.

Though lead-212 will be made in small ranges on the bench in a laboratory, present generator approaches have discovered it tough to supply the nuclear species at a big scale. Together with business scale hurdles, lead-212 additionally has a shorter half-life in comparison with the extensively used alpha-emitter actinium-225 – 10.6 hours versus practically ten days respectively.

Developed internally by its IsoTherapeutics crew and utilizing a sealed thorium-228 supply, Telix claims its lead-212 manufacturing happens with a better quantity of radioactivity, yield, and shelf life in comparison with out there mills.

Telix states its automated and high-throughput generator can produce enough lead-212 elution for as much as 60 scientific doses, including there may be the “potential to additional scale”. Elution refers back to the means of extracting the radioactive daughter nuclide.

The corporate has not disclosed the scale of the generator, saying solely that the manufacturing footprint has been designed to be deployed all through its manufacturing and distribution networks. Its business channels had been bolstered lately with the $250m acquisition of RLS Radiopharmacies in September 2024. With the enterprise bolt-on, Telix gained entry to 31 radiopharmacies unfold throughout 18 US states.

Telix’s isotope technique common supervisor Chad Watkins mentioned: “A lead-212 generator that produces minimal waste and suits throughout the present radiopharmacy footprint is a step change within the manufacturing of this alpha emitting therapeutic radioisotope.

“It creates the potential for business scale lead-212 isotope manufacturing that wasn’t attainable earlier than and opens up new pathways for matching this promising alpha isotope with a spread of concentrating on brokers.”

The UK Nationwide Nuclear Laboratory (UKNNL) has pointed to the promise of lead-212 for most cancers therapies while additionally highlighting its provide hurdles. In partnership with Medicines Discovery Catapult, the company is utilizing authorities funding to reprocess uranium waste from energy crops into usable lead-212 medical isotopes.

“Different nations are already researching and growing these remedies, however the UK doesn’t but have a sustainable pipeline of radiopharmaceuticals to safe entry for UK sufferers,” the UKNNL mentioned in a press release.

Based on the lab, the long-term purpose is to make the fabric out there to researchers and drug builders, finally enabling business manufacturing and routine use throughout the NHS.

The urge for food for lead-212-based therapies is obvious. AdvanCell, whose lead candidate makes use of the isotope, raised $112m in funding final month. RadioMedix and Orano Med’s AlphaMedix, one other focused alpha remedy that makes use of lead-212, was the topic of a $110m up-front licensing deal by Sanofi in September 2024. Telix itself raised $398m in July 2024 to advance its pipeline of diagnostic imaging brokers and most cancers remedy programmes.

While huge offers proceed to be made within the area, together with billion-dollar offers made by Eli Lilly and AstraZeneca final 12 months, provide chains are more and more beneath stress as isotope producers wrestle to upscale capability. Actinium-225, for instance, has been in a worldwide scarcity for a lot of the radiopharmaceutical market’s existence.