Telix Pharmaceuticals (ASX:TLX) has completed the transaction to expand its theranostic pipeline with new candidates targeting Fibroblast Activation Protein (FAP), one of the most promising pan-cancer targets in nuclear medicine.
In November 2024, the company announced that it had entered into asset purchase and exclusive worldwide in-license agreements for a suite of clinically validated FAP-targeting therapeutic and precision medicine (diagnostic) radiopharmaceutical candidates developed by Professor Frank Rösch and his collaborators at the Institute of Nuclear Chemistry at the Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz in Germany.
Telix said it had added the lead FAP-targeting therapeutic compound to its pipeline under the name TLX400 and is building out a theranostic development program in bladder cancer as part of its urology focus, as well as exploring its potential as a pan-cancer therapeutics across multiple indications in solid tumours.
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. The assets that Telix has acquired 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.
Telix CEO of Therapeutics, Richard Valeix, said, “We are pleased to have finalised this transaction so that we can continue to leverage the FAP-targeting research pioneered by Professor Rösch and his team. We believe this technology holds great promise for both imaging and treating tumours, and Telix is now focused on using these compounds to build out our urology franchise and explore pan-cancer opportunities, with the goal of bringing new theranostic solutions to physicians and their patients.”