Telix Pharmaceuticals announced it has entered into an asset purchase agreement with antibody engineering company ImaginAb to buy a pipeline of next-generation therapeutic candidates, a proprietary novel biologics technology platform, and a protein engineering and discovery research facility to enhance existing innovation capabilities.
This deal adds a pipeline of early-stage drug candidates against high-value targets, including DLL31 and integrin αvβ62, and several other novel targets in the discovery stage. These next-generation drug candidates fit synergistically with Telix’s therapeutics pipeline, enabling the expansion to future therapy areas with unmet clinical needs. The acquired IP utilizes small engineered antibody formats that enable highly specific cancer targeting and fast tumor uptake and blood clearance. This technology can potentially be highly effective for imaging and treating tumors with a broad range of radioisotopes, with alpha emitters of particular interest.
The deal also includes a state-of-the-art research facility in California staffed by a talented team of discovery, protein engineering, and radiopharmaceutical development experts. Together, these assets will provide Telix with further in-house capabilities in antibody engineering and preclinical development and a novel biologics platform to create the next generation of Telix precision medicine and therapeutic products, beyond the current clinical-stage pipeline.
Telix will buy these assets through an asset purchase agreement with a concurrent technology license agreement to be signed at closing. And the purchase price for the deal is $45 million (AU$73 million), comprised of $10 million in cash and $31 million in equity at closing, and a deferred payment of up to $4 million in equity after a 15-month indemnity period. And upon achievement of specific key development and commercial milestones, Telix will pay up to a total of $185 million (AU$299 million), a portion of which may be paid in cash or equity at Telix’s election. The royalties are also payable on net sales in the low single digits on a limited number of platform and early-stage products after the first four products have been developed, as well as single-digit sublicense fees, as applicable.
KEY QUOTES:
“The combination of a proprietary drug discovery platform, pipeline of promising theranostic assets and a talented team of subject matter experts will enhance Telix’s research and innovation capability now and into the future. This acquisition will enable Telix to explore new disease areas with state-of-the-art radiotherapeutic technology.”
– Richard Valeix, Chief Executive Officer, Therapeutics, Telix
“As the radiopharmaceutical sector gains momentum there is a significant need for targeting agents to be more selective, deliver less off-target radiation, and better match the pharmacology and radiobiology of a given radionuclide. The team’s deep expertise in antibody engineering and the resulting development of a valuable, proprietary platform technology has led to clinical proof-of-concept. Telix is the right partner to unlock the future therapeutic potential of this platform.”
– Dr. Anna M. Wu, Co-Founder and Board Member, ImaginAb
