Lilly agrees $1.4 billion radiopharma acquisition

Eli Lilly and Company has agreed to acquire the radiopharmaceutical firm POINT Biopharma Global for $1.4 billion.

According to Eli Lilly, it will action a tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of POINT for total purchase price of approximately $1.4 billion. This will be payable once the deal has completed.

What radioligand therapies will be developed under the acquisition agreement?

Radioligand therapy works by directly targeting cancer by linking a radioisotope to a targeting molecule that delivers radiation directly to cancer cells, Eli Lilly stated. This results in significant anti-tumour efficacy while reducing the impact on normal cells.

POINT’s lead programmes are currently in late-stage development. One of the medicines, PNT2002, is a prostate-specific membrane antigen (PSMA) targeted radioligand therapy. This therapeutic combines a PSMA-targeted ligand, PSMA-I&T, with the beta-emitting radioisotope lutetium-177. The treatment is currently being studied in a Phase III trial. It is being investigated for patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) after progression on hormonal treatment. Topline data from this study are expected in Q4 of 2023.

The company’s other lead radiopharmaceutical candidate is PNT2003, or lutetium-177 Octreotate (177Lu-DOTATATE). This is a somatostatin receptor (SSTR) targeted radioligand therapy. It is being developed to treat patients with gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (GEP-NETs).

POINT’s radiopharmaceutical manufacturing campus in Indianapolis, US, as well as its radiopharmaceutical research and development (R&D) centre in Toronto in Canada, will be used to support development of PNT2003.

A new acquisition for Eli Lilly

“We are excited by the potential of this emerging modality and see the acquisition of POINT as the beginning of our investment in developing multiple meaningful radioligand medicines for hard-to-treat cancers,” commented Jacob Van Naarden, President of Loxo@Lilly, Eli Lilly’s oncology unit.

The pharma company‘s new acquisition is anticipated to close towards the end of 2023, although this is subject to customary closing conditions.