Radiopharm ups stake in US cancer-fighting venture

Radiopharm Theranostics has boosted its stake in a United States-based joint venture (JV) with the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center to 75 per cent after promising early results in a wide range of solid tumour therapies.

The company says it has increased its hold in the “Radiopharm Ventures” JV from 51 per cent by committing an additional US$4 million (AU$5.9 million) towards future preclinical and clinical trial expenses. Management says the move to scoop up a bigger slice of the collaboration comes on the back of promising results in its cancer therapeutic pipeline, including for its leading “B7H3” candidate and recent positive results in two other preclinical therapies that are applicable to multiple solid tumour types.

Radiopharm is focussed on the development of radiopharmaceutical products that can transmit low levels of radiation directly to cancerous cells in a patient’s body. The low levels of radiation are delivered by radioisotopes that attach to biological molecules that specifically target the characteristics demonstrated by multiple types of differing cancers.

B7H3, which management says is successfully completing preclinical studies, is an immune checkpoint protein that is consistently and abnormally overexpressed in most cancer tissues. The high expression of B7H3 in cancer is associated with bigger tumours and those which invade the lymphatic system.

Radiopharm’s JV is aiming to attach the radioactive isotope “Lutetium-177” (Lu177) to the B7H3 monoclonal antibody (mAb) that will specifically target cancerous tissues in the body overexpressing the protein naturally. The company says that after the preclinical studies, the B7H3 mAb candidate will progress to phase-one therapeutic trials that are planned to start in the first half of next year.

The Radiopharm Ventures JV was created in September 2022 in a bid to develop novel radiopharmaceutical products for cancer treatment. The company says the JV leverages MD Anderson’s expertise in antigen discovery and molecular imaging alongside Radiopharm’s capabilities in developing radiopharmaceutical therapies.

Radiopharm Theranostics chief executive officer and managing director Riccardo Canevari said: "We are encouraged by the progress to date within Radiopharm Ventures. The increased ownership by RAD, coupled with the advancements in the associated programs, positions us well to enter a Phase 1 clinical trial with B7H3 next year.”

Radiopharmaceutical diagnostics and therapy are a revolutionary branch of modern cancer treatments. The use of radioisotopes attached to biological molecules can precisely target specific organs, tissues, or cells within the body.

The body’s natural targeting system allows Radiopharm therapies to deliver tiny, localised radioactive doses directly to cancerous cells, effectively destroying them individually.
Radiopharm collaborates with leading universities and research institutes with an eye towards developing a diverse pipeline that includes peptides, small molecules and monoclonal antibodies that target aggressive brain and pancreatic cancers, in addition to lung, breast, prostate and kidney cancers. Most recently, the company was granted approval by the US Food and Drug Authority (FDA) for late-stage human trials of its “RAD 101” agent that is designed to seek out and unearth a fatty acid overexpressed in brain tumours, but not in normal cells.

As Radiopharm continues to expand its development of several new radiopharmaceutical agents – combating a variety of cancer types – the company has also been reinforced by a significant influx of some $70 million in capital from institutional fund managers and up to an additional $15 million from American medical giant, Lantheus.

And by grabbing a bigger slice of its US-based JV, management appears to be putting solid faith behind its cancer-fighting prospects.

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