Telix Pharmaceuticals and German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) Enter into Collaboration and Option Agreement for Image-Guided Prostate Surgery

MELBOURNE, Australia and HEIDELBERG, Germany, Aug. 05, 2019 (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 that it has entered into a collaboration agreement with the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum or DKFZ) in the field of image-guided surgery for prostate cancer.

Researchers at DKFZ and Heidelberg University Clinic have developed a next-generation radiotracer based on ⁶⁸Ga-PSMA-11 (currently under development by Telix as TLX591-CDx, marketed as illumet^TM in the United States) that incorporates a fluorophore (a fluorescing agent) in addition to the ability to molecularly-target radiation for imaging with Positron Emission Tomography (PET). The result is a technology that can simultaneously image prostate cancer with PET as well as provide intra-operative surgical guidance through fluorescence (optical) imaging. Image-guided (fluorescence) imaging is a standard embedded feature of modern robotic surgery platforms (e.g. the Firefly^® imaging system as part of the da Vinci^® surgical robotics system by Intuitive Surgical), extensively used in urologic surgery worldwide.

Telix Group CEO Dr. Christian Behrenbruch stated, "The astonishing research of our colleagues at DKFZ and Heidelberg has tremendous potential in improving the quality and efficiency of using image-guided techniques for robotic surgery. To date, Telix has focused on using PSMA imaging in the post-prostatectomy biochemical recurrence setting. This collaboration will explore how the combination of PET and image-guided surgery can be used to improve outcomes during prostatectomy, further expanding the impact of molecular imaging in the management of prostate cancer.”

Under the terms of the collaboration, Telix will collaborate with DKFZ and affiliated researchers to conduct the necessary translational research studies to evaluate the technology in the surgical setting. The agreement includes a fully negotiated, exclusive option to license the technology for commercial development.  

The principal investigator at DKFZ, Dr. Ann-Christin Baranski, and who is also a scientist of the German Cancer Consortium (DKTK, partner location Freiburg) and the department of Nuclear Medicine (University Hospital Freiburg) added, "Our colleagues at Telix have made tremendous progress in commercializing PSMA-11 PET imaging, a technology that was originally developed here at DKFZ. To this end, Telix we feel Telix is an appropriate commercial partner for this novel technology and we look forward to working with the Telix team to evaluate the impact of this technology in patients in the near future.”

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 the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ)

More than 450,000 people are diagnosed with cancer each year in Germany. Cancer is a disease that poses enormous challenges to research, because every cancer is different and its course can vary immensely even from one patient to the next. To perform research into cancer is the task of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) according to its statutes. DKFZ is the largest biomedical research institute in Germany and a member of the Helmholtz Association of National Research Centers. In over 90 divisions and research groups, our more than 3,000 employees, of which more than 1,200 are scientists, are investigating the mechanisms of cancer, are identifying cancer risk factors and are trying to find strategies to prevent people from getting cancer. They are developing novel approaches to make tumor diagnosis more precise and treatment of cancer patients more successful.

 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.