Eli Lilly previously inked a $1.4bn deal to acquire radiopharmaceutical company POINT Biopharma in October 2023. Credit: Michael Vi via Shutterstock.

Eli Lilly is once again expanding its scope in the radiopharmaceuticals space by entering into a multi-target discovery collaboration agreement with private biotech Aktis Oncology. 

Lilly will give Aktis $60m in an upfront payment, with the biotech also having access to聽$1.1bn in milestone-based payments and royalties on sales. 聽

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Under the terms of the agreement, Lilly will gain worldwide rights to develop targets for radiopharmaceuticals discovered by Aktis. However, the deal does not include Aktis鈥� current pipeline, which consists of seven programmes.聽聽

Aktis previously received backing from pharma giants & Co, , and (BMS) when it closed a $84m Series A extension round in August 2022. Aktis’ therapies kill cancer cells by delivering targeted radiation that damages the DNA of the cells. Its lead candidate targets nectin-4, a protein overexpressed in certain cancers including breast and bladder cancer.  

In October 2023, Lilly 鈥痜or the acquisition of all outstanding shares of radiopharmaceutical company POINT Biopharma for an all-in cash price of $1.4bn. Point鈥檚 pipeline includes two lead programmes, PNT2002 and PNT2003, which are in Phase III clinical trials for prostate cancer and neuroendocrine tumours respectively. 

The radiopharmaceuticals market is booming following a series of recent deals. Novartis is a major player in the field, having acquired Mariana Oncology in a $1.75bn transaction earlier this month. Novartis will acquire Mariana鈥檚 lead candidate MC-339, a radioligand therapy (RLT) designed to target small-cell lung cancer. In 2023, Mariana had raised $175m in a Series B round from other funds. 

In February 2024, BMS acquired clinical-stage radiopharma RayzeBio for $4.2bn after signing an agreement in December 2023. A Phase III trial of lead candidate RYZ101 (虏虏鈦礎c-DOTATATE) is currently ongoing for the treatment of gastroenteropancreatic neuroendocrine tumours (GEP-NETs) and extensive stage small cell lung cancer (ES-SCLC). 

According to GlobalData, venture financing for US-based companies with radiopharmaceutical drugs between 2018-2023 saw a total deal value of over $1.2bn. 

GlobalData is the parent company of Pharmaceutical Technology. 

Whilst there is a rise in venture financing for radiopharmaceuticals, the development of these drugs can come with challenges. Biopharma companies must navigate supply chain issues, considering the short half-life of radioisotopes.  

In the announcement accompanying the collaboration, Lilly鈥檚 president said: 鈥淭his collaboration with Aktis Oncology builds upon our growing radiopharmaceutical capabilities and provides access to an exciting and innovative technology for creating important and differentiated radiopharmaceuticals.鈥�