Posted: 20 November 2024
Telix today announces it will expand its theranostic pipeline with new assets targeting Fibroblast Activation Protein (FAP), one of the most promising pan-cancer targets in nuclear medicine. Telix’s development program will initially focus on the treatment of bladder cancer, rounding out its urology franchise, which includes late-stage therapeutic programs for kidney and prostate cancers.
FAP is a pan-cancer marker expressed in the tumour microenvironment of epithelial cancers and on the surface of some specific cancer types, including sarcomas and mesotheliomas.
Telix has entered into asset purchase and exclusive worldwide in-licence agreements for a suite of clinically validated FAP-targeting therapeutic and precision medicine (diagnostic) radiopharmaceutical candidates developed by Professor Frank Roesch and his collaborators at the Institute of Nuclear Chemistry at the Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Germany. The next-generation therapeutic assets are differentiated by a novel structure that drives extended tumour retention while minimising off-target uptake, potentially overcoming the limitations seen with first-generation compounds. The diagnostic and therapeutic compounds have been clinically validated in over 500 patients across a variety of solid tumours and are the subject of multiple peer-review publications[1].
Richard Valeix, Chief Executive Officer, Telix Therapeutics, said, “We are delighted to partner with Professor Roesch and his team on this exciting frontier of radiopharmaceuticals. Telix will gain access to assets that are already significantly de-risked, with clinically demonstrated safety profile and efficacy. We will develop these assets in bladder cancer as a primary indication, in line with our focus on urological cancers, and explore the potential of FAP as a pan-cancer target, adding significant value to our pipeline.”
Frank Roesch, professor emeritus, said, “Over the past two years, our FAP inhibitor-based theranostic candidates have seen extensive preclinical and clinical evaluation. Collaboration has been very important, and I am grateful to many colleagues around the world who have contributed to advancing the molecules to this point. We are excited to be working with Telix as a leader in radiopharmaceutical innovation, development and commercialisation, to further develop and bring these drug candidates to regulatory approval. The ultimate goal is to improve the diagnostic precision and therapeutic outcomes of cancer patients in need.”
