Sanofi will join Big Pharma peers Novartis, BMS and Eli Lilly in radioligands, striking a $110 million licensing deal with RadioMedix and Orano Med to develop AlphaMedix for neuroendocrine tumors.
Sanofi has become the next Big Pharma company to challenge Novartis in the field of radiopharmaceuticals, inking a $110 million licensing deal to work with RadioMedix and Orano Med on a neuroendocrine tumor candidate.
The three-way deal will see Sanofi pay out €100 million ($110 million) upfront, with €220 million ($242.5 million) in sales milestones, plus royalties, according to a Thursday press release. RadioMedix is a U.S.-based biotech developing radiopharmaceuticals for PET imaging and targeted alpha therapy for unmet needs in cancer. Orano Med is a French company developing radioligand therapies.
The focus of the deal is AlphaMedix, a targeted radioligand therapy that uses lead-212Pb to target cancer. Truist Securities noted that pharmas have been zeroing in on Lead as the next big thing in radioligand therapy. The potential advantages include a short half-life and clearance, delivery of potent alpha emission and more abundant source material, according to Truist analysts.
With that said, Truist warned that investors are concerned about a lack of clarity around distribution logistics for the one-time delivery of the therapy and potential safety concerns.
Under the deal, Sanofi will be responsible for commercialization while Orano Med will conduct manufacturing. AlphaMedix is currently in a Phase II trial for gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumors (GEP-NETs), according to RadioMedix’s pipeline.
Sanofi is the latest Big Pharma to enter the radioligand space. The clear front runner is Novartis, which has two therapies already approved with Pluvicto for prostate cancer and Lutathera for GEP-NETs.
AstraZeneca, Bristol Myers Squibb and Eli Lilly have all struck major deals over the past year to enter the space. The largest was BMS’s $4.1 billion acquisition of RayzeBio in December 2023.
Lilly has done both a licensing deal with Aktis Oncology and a full buyout of Point BioPharma for $1.4 billion to get in on the action.
Novartis began its journey into radioligands in 2017 with the acquisition of Advanced Accelerator Application for $3.9 billion, followed by the $2.1 billion buyout of EndoCyte in October 2018 and then Mariana Oncology for $1 billion upfront and $750 million in milestones in May .
