Radiopharmaceuticals require sophisticated infrastructure, with just-in-time radioactives delivered to patients who must isolate while receiving the therapy. Quality control and numerous layers of regulation makes for a daunting space to enter.
Supply issues are a “major concern for the whole industry and for the medical community as well, because they see targeted radiotherapy as a very promising field with very interesting results in the clinic, but they are concerned that drugs may not be available for a large number of patients, and it is a legitimate concern,” Orano Med SAS CEO Julien Dodet said.
Sometimes the simplest solution is the most elegant solution, and that is certainly the case for Livac Pty Ltd.’s minimally invasive liver vacuum retractor device known as the Livac.
Noxopharm Pty Ltd.’s stock plummeted nearly 40% on the morning of April 6 after the company announced it was quitting development of its lead program, Veyonda (idronoxil/formerly OX-66), shuttering its DARRT-2 and CEP-2 oncology clinical trials and disbanding its clinical trial team to contain costs.
Supply issues are a “major concern for the whole industry and for the medical community as well, because they see targeted radiotherapy as a very promising field with very interesting results in the clinic, but they are concerned that drugs may not be available for a large number of patients, and it is a legitimate concern,” Orano Med SAS CEO Julien Dodet said. Companies such as Orano, Fusion Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd. are working to meet those supply challenges.
Radiopharmaceuticals require sophisticated infrastructure, with just-in-time radioactives delivered to patients who must isolate while receiving the therapy. Quality control and numerous layers of regulation makes for a daunting space to enter. Although the demand for medical isotopes is growing, the facilities that can make these products are aging, and one of the major facilities globally has already come offline. Next steps for the industry will be to solve supply and regulatory challenges as clinical trial data start to differentiate therapies in the pipeline.
PYC Therapeutics Ltd.’s lead candidate, VP-001, is entering the clinic, and the RNA therapy could be the first potential treatment for retinitis pigmentosa type 11, which causes blindness that begins in childhood and ultimately leads to legal blindness by middle age.
The radiopharma field has garnered increasing attention in recent years due to big-ticket deals like Bayer AG's $2.9 billion acquisition of Algeta ASA and Novartis AG's nearly $6 billion spent on buying Advanced Accelerator Applications SA and Endocyte Inc. As a result, competition is ratcheting up and pipelines are exploding with new combinations of different drugs. The global radiopharmaceuticals market was estimated to be valued at $6.7 billion in 2020, a number expected to reach $11.5 billion by 2027, according to a 2022 William Blair report.
Global interest in radiopharmaceuticals is growing, and some big deals in the space have sparked interest in the last few years. Novartis AG has spent about $6 billion in acquisitions and is seen as the global leader.
Innate Pharma SA inked a licensing deal that grants Takeda Pharmaceutical Co Ltd exclusive worldwide rights to research and develop antibody-drug conjugates using a panel of selected Innate antibodies against an undisclosed target, with a primary focus in celiac disease.
