TerraPower Isotopes and PanTera, the Belgian joint venture created by SCK CEN and IBA, announced today that they have signed a strategic collaboration to increase the global availability of actinium-225 (225Ac), a radioisotope that has the potential to treat a large variety of cancer indications. The companies will work together to increase near-term production of 225Ac to support ongoing clinical trials and to ensure the large-scale supply of the radioisotope in the long term, addressing growing global demand.
This collaboration will not have any immediate financial impact but has the potential to bring substantial revenues in the future to PanTera and, indirectly, to its two shareholders SCK CEN and IBA, a listed company on the Brussels stock exchange.
Under this collaboration, both companies will use TerraPower Isotope’s natural decay method based on thorium-229 (229Th) and PanTera’s "Gamma route" based on the Rhodotron and radium-226 to produce 225Ac.
"We are excited to join forces with TerraPower Isotopes to increase the market availability of 225Ac. While continuing to prepare our unique technology for large-scale production of 225Ac, as from 2024 we will also offer the radioisotope to drug developers for their research and clinical trials, as well as to physicians for compassionate use. This volume would be equivalent to 50% of today’s supply and would underpin the wider development of these targeted alpha therapy radiopharmaceuticals as an effective treatment modality for cancer", commented Sven Van den Berghe, PanTera’s Chief Executive Officer.
225Ac is a promising alpha emitter for use in Targeted Alpha Therapy (TAT). A series of molecules that are currently under research, combined with 225Ac through further manufacturing, have the potential to treat a variety of cancers, targeting solid tumors, metastases, and systemic cancers such as leukemia. There are several clinical studies currently in progress, ranging from preclinical development through to phase 3 clinical trials. Whilst there is high demand, there is a scarcity of 225Ac. The collaboration between PanTera and TerraPower Isotopes is seeking to address this supply issue and support the clinical development of 225Ac based drugs as a potential treatment option for cancer.
Scott Claunch, President of TerraPower Isotopes, added: "Consistent with TerraPower’s vision of developing innovative solutions to help fight disease using nuclear science, TerraPower Isotopes is thrilled to secure this collaboration with PanTera. Demand for 225Ac is expected to increase as more radiopharmaceutical treatments using 225Ac are developed to treat a variety of different types of cancers. This collaboration will help us supply this valuable material to the pharmaceutical industry and meet the growing global demand."