Telix Pharmaceuticals Acquires Advanced Nuclear Medicine Ingredients (ANMI) SA

MELBOURNE, Australia, BRUSSELS and LIÈGE, Belgium, Nov. 26, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited (ASX:TLX) ("Telix”, the "Company”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of diagnostic and therapeutic products based on targeted radiopharmaceuticals or "molecularly-targeted radiation” (MTR) has today announced the acquisition of Belgium-based Advanced Nuclear Medicine Ingredients (ANMI) SA for €5.15m in cash and shares.

The acquisition of ANMI significantly expands the market opportunity for Telix’s investment in prostate cancer imaging and builds on the existing commercialization collaboration for the illumet^TM prostate imaging (⁶⁸Ga-PSMA) kit for the US market. Combining the resources, clinical data and human capital of both companies is expected to accelerate the process of preparing a new drug application (NDA) in the United States and Europe for prostate imaging.

Telix CEO Christian Behrenbruch stated, "The acquisition of ANMI creates a significantly more capable company with the ability to deliver prostate cancer imaging on a global basis, rather than in a territorially-segmented manner. The clinical availability of prostate cancer imaging will have a major impact on the adoption rate of PSMA radiotherapeutics and therefore this acquisition reinforces our competitive differentiation of offering both imaging and therapy as an integrated solution. We’re very pleased to welcome the talented ANMI team to Telix.”

ANMI Co-Founder and CEO Ludovic Wouters noted, "ANMI and Telix have achieved a great deal as business partners over the past two years. With the growing importance of nuclear medicine, particularly in urologic oncology, the two companies benefit from establishing an integrated theranostic approach. We also see a clear way for ANMI to contribute to Telix’s product development by packaging their therapeutic products in way that makes them fast and easy to prepare in the radiopharmacy setting.”

The transaction is expected to complete in December 2018. Financial details of the transaction are available: https://www.asx.com.au/asx/share-price-research/company/TLX.

About Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited

Telix Pharmaceuticals Limited ("Telix”) is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of diagnostic and therapeutic products based on targeted radiopharmaceuticals or "molecularly-targeted radiation” (MTR). The company is headquartered in Melbourne with international operations in Brussels (EU), Kyoto (Japan) and Indianapolis (USA). Telix is developing a portfolio of clinical-stage oncology products that address significant unmet medical need in renal, prostate and brain (glioblastoma) cancer. Telix is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX:TLX). For more information visit www.telixpharma.com.

About Advanced Nuclear Medicine Ingredients (ANMI) SA

ANMI SA is a pharmaceutical company developing innovative radiopharmaceutical solutions and a global service provider in the nuclear medicine field, located in Liège, Belgium. ANMI has developed innovative solutions to facilitate the scalable synthesis of "theranostic” (therapeutic + diagnostic) radiopharmaceuticals and to ease their daily production in hospitals and radiopharmacies. ANMI's vision is focused on increasing patient access to new highly specific theranostic radiopharmaceuticals through streamlined and cost-effective production processes. For more information visit www.anmi.be. 

About Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA)

PSMA is a cancer target (cell surface antigen) that is highly upregulated in prostate cancer cells and is a highly validated and promising target for a range of diagnostic and therapeutic strategies in prostate cancer.

About HBED-CC-PSMA-11 (⁶⁸Ga-PSMA)

HBED-CC-PSMA-11 (⁶⁸Ga-PSMA) is a small molecule (ligand) that targets and binds to PSMA and enables metastatic prostate cancer to be imaged using Positron Emission Tomography (PET) with excellent sensitivity and specificity. PET is a highly effective and widely used imaging modality in the management of cancer.

About the ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA Kit (illumet^TM )

ANMI’s ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA kit is the first "cold kit” for direct labelling of a PSMA-targeting molecule with ⁶⁸Ga (gallium). The kit utilizes proprietary chemistry to enable robust and reliable radiolabeling at room temperature in 5 minutes. The ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA kit is currently in late-stage clinical development in Europe and is commercialized in the US by Telix Pharmaceuticals (US) Inc. where it is marked under the brand name illumet^TM.

Important Information

This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, securities in the United States, or in any other jurisdiction in which such an offer would be illegal. The securities referred to herein have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933 (the "US Securities Act”), or under the securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States and may not be offered or sold within the United States, unless the securities have been registered under the US Securities Act or an exemption from the registration requirements of the US Securities Act is available. None of the products described in this release have obtained a marketing authorization in any jurisdiction, including the United States and Europe.